


Buying Drinks

by LadyLiberal



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Clubbing, Dating, Eventual Smut, F/M, Falling In Love, Female Roronoa Zoro, Loss of Virginity, Minor Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco/Portgas D. Ace, Minor Monkey D. Luffy/Trafalgar D. Water Law, Minor Nami/Nefertari Vivi, Playboy Sanji, Police Officer Roronoa Zoro
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:26:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 48,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23907655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyLiberal/pseuds/LadyLiberal
Summary: “You’re the only woman to reject me all night.”Zora raised an eyebrow in amusement and teased, “The only one, eh? Guess that makes me pretty special, huh?”The man scratched at the small goatee on his chin, “Yeah, it does.”She scoffed, “I was just kidding.” Zora took a swig of whiskey and turned her body to face him, “You aren’t used to getting rejected I take it?”He took a sip of his wine and shook his head, “You’d be the first.”That made her laugh, “Sorry, curly, I’m not here to meet anyone, I’m just here to drink.”
Relationships: Roronoa Zoro & Vinsmoke Sanji, Roronoa Zoro/Vinsmoke Sanji
Comments: 97
Kudos: 160





	1. Rejection

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own One Piece or its characters, I only own this story.

It was just like any other Friday night; Zora was at the club drinking whiskey and had her cousin for company. She would much rather drink at home after getting off duty, but somehow Perona always managed to convince her to go out nearly every week. On the bright side, after dragging her out of the house, Perona always left her alone once there were a few drinks in her system and tonight was no different; after Perona took a couple shots of vodka, she went out on the dance floor and let loose.

They always came to the Thousand Sunny because they had the best music, the best drinks, and Zora happened to know the owner, Franky, from college. Most of the people who came here were in their twenties or thirties, but sometimes older people would wander in for a few rounds of drinks.

The place had two levels, the first floor had a large dancefloor and a long bar with room to sit. There were booths and tables around the dancefloor, and the upstairs was a wrap-around balcony that had a view of what was happening down below. The place would be dark if it wasn’t for all the colorful lights flashing above the dancefloor.

Zora always chose to sit up at the bar and watch people in the club make fools of themselves. She has always been observant, a watcher, taking in her surroundings without participating in the rowdiness. It wasn’t her style to get crazy drunk and grind up on anyone within touching distance, but it was always fun to see other people doing it.

She didn’t mind being alone, in fact, she preferred it. Zora was never the type of person to make friends easily, much more of a loner type. No one ever bothered her as she sat by herself, if anything they avoided her. Most people would call it an occupational hazard, but Zora knew it was just _her._

The place was packed, just like any other Friday night. Zora was on her second drink when someone sat down next to her and asked, “What does it feel like to be the most beautiful woman in this room?”

She nearly spit out her drink but brought her hand to her mouth to prevent such a tragic thing from happening. Zora turned to stare at the man who was hitting on her and asked, “You think I’m dumb enough to fall for that stupid line?”

The man wasn’t deterred like she’d hoped and instead smiled, “Do you have a name, or can I call you mine?”

“I’m not yours,” she told him flatly.

“I don’t know, you look a lot like my next girlfriend,” he spoke in a deep, raspy voice that gave her the impression he smokes.

Zora rolled her eyes, “Do I look like someone who seems interested in you?”

He chuckled, “I know how to show a woman a good time.”

“I _was_ having a good time until you showed up,” she muttered under her breath but still loud enough for him to hear.

Thankfully, that seemed to shut him up, but he still was sitting beside her. Zora took the opportunity to study his features. He was tall, his body lean, his blond hair covered the right side of his face and he wore a pale blue button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. As she was looking at him, he turned his head to face her again and Zora found herself staring into the bluest eye she’s ever seen. His eyebrow was strange, there was a curl on the left side, but Zora couldn’t say it looked _bad_ on him.

He gave her a half-hearted smile and asked, “Can I at least buy you a drink?”

She sighed loudly, giving in only for the promise of alcohol, “Fine.”

That seemed to make him happy, because his smile grew and he waved the bartender over, “Will you get the lady another drink? Put it on my tab.”

Although Zora was annoyed by the man’s cheesy pick-up lines, she was happy to get a free drink out of it and decided the least she could do was talk to him while she drank it.

The bartender placed a fresh drink in front of her and Zora quickly finished her old one before taking a sip. She set down her glass and turned to the man beside her, “Thanks.”

He gave her a grim smile, “It’s the least I can do after ruining your night.”

Zora was starting to feel a little bad for rejecting him and assured him, “You didn’t ruin my night.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” he sounded reassured.

She took another sip of whiskey and licked her lips, “Do some women actually fall for such cheesy lines?”

A soft chuckle escaped him, “Usually.”

“That’s hard to believe,” she told him honestly.

He shook his head, “You’re the only woman to reject me all night.”

Zora raised an eyebrow in amusement and teased, “The only one, eh? Guess that makes me pretty special, huh?”

The man scratched at the small goatee on his chin, “Yeah, it does.”

She scoffed, “I was just kidding.” Zora took a swig of whiskey and turned her body to face him, “You aren’t used to getting rejected I take it?”

He took a sip of his wine and shook his head, “You’d be the first.”

That made her laugh, “Sorry, curly, I’m not here to meet anyone, I’m just here to drink.”

The corner of his mouth twitched up into a smile, “Curly?”

She pointed at his eyebrow with a smirk, “Yeah, curly.”

His pale cheeks turned pink and he turned away, taking another drink from his wine glass.

Zora laughed, “What—you’ve never been called that before?”

He blushed further and shook his head.

She smiled at him and let it slip, “You’re cute.”

Immediately, he turned to give her a bewildered look, “What’d you say?”

Rolling her eyes, Zora repeated herself, “I said that you’re cute. Don’t let it get to your head.”

He chuckled, “Do you really think so little of me?”

She shrugged, “I don’t think of you at all.” Zora finished off her drink and got up from the barstool, “Anyway, thanks for the drink, curly.” She gave him a small smile and walked away to leave. She knew Perona would be going home with whoever managed to catch her eye and wasn’t worried.


	2. Hello Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you amberaza and Youkoartemis for your comments on the first chapter! I appreciate the hell out of you. Hope you like where this is headed <3

Sanji went back to the Thousand Sunny the next Friday night. He liked the club; the music was good for dancing and they had some nice wines on the shelf. It was also a bonus that the women were young, beautiful, and wore sexy outfits. He was flirting with every woman in the room, until he saw her.

Sitting up at the bar, just like the week before, was the woman who rejected him. All week long, Sanji had been trying to forget about the encounter, forget about the way she smiled and the sound of her laugh. It was humiliating—being rejected—he was Sanji Black, he didn’t get rejected by women. He could get any woman he wanted into his bed—well, any woman except her apparently.

As soon as he spotted her, he forgot about the woman he’d been talking to and made his way up to the bar. He took a deep breath to calm himself before asking, “Is this seat taken?”

When she turned to acknowledge him, he saw recognition on her face. She smirked, “No, it’s not.”

Sanji gave her a crooked smile and slid onto the barstool, “Can I buy you a drink?”

Her smirk turned into a grin, “I’d be disappointed if you didn’t.”

He flagged down the bartender and got them both a drink. After taking a sip of his merlot, he set down his wine glass and turned to the woman beside him, “You know, I never got your name.”

She appeared to be contemplating whether or not to tell him, but eventually answered, “Zora.”

“Sanji,” he told her with a smile.

Zora hummed, “I know.” After giving her a curious look, she explained, “You’re on the cover of all those stupid tabloid magazines.”

“Ah,” he couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed, he never asked for people to become so interested in his life.

“Relax, I don’t pay much attention to that crap. I just recognized you is all,” Zora smirked at him, “No one else has such curly eyebrows.”

He felt himself blushing from her teasing, again. Sanji had no idea how to act around this woman, she wasn’t easy to impress or charm like most. She treated him like a regular person, not some celebrity; and even though he might not be used to it, he didn’t mind and found it refreshing.

“So, have you already flirted with every woman here? I did happen to notice the term ‘playboy’ gets used a lot on those magazines,” she wiggled her eyebrows playfully.

Sanji turned to her with his eyebrow raised, “Why? Are you jealous?”

Zora barked out a laugh, “Hardly! I could care less about who you decide to sleep with.”

He took a sip of his merlot and licked his lips, never breaking eye-contact, “I stopped flirting when I saw you over here.”

She shook her head and set her glass down on the bar top, “Sorry, but I’m only interested in the free drinks.”

“Well, if that’s the case, I’d happily buy you drinks all night,” he told her honestly.

She smirked, “I certainly won’t stop you.”

Sanji smiled at her, he couldn’t help himself from saying, “I’d really love to buy you more than a few drinks sometime.”

She finished off her glass of whiskey, “Are you asking me on a date?”

He shrugged, “If that’s what you want.”

Zora clicked her tongue and flipped her long, straight, green hair over her shoulder, “From what I’ve heard, that’s not really your style.”

“It’s not,” he admitted, “But if that’s what it takes for you to give me a chance…” Sanji stared into her gorgeous, emerald green eyes, “I could switch things up a bit.”

She signaled for the bartender to refill her drink. When they were finished, she took a sip from the glass before saying, “I’m not really looking for a relationship.”

He frowned, “I understand.”

Sanji heard rather than saw her set down her drink, “Look, I’m flattered, really—it’s not something I’m used to.”

“What do you mean?” He asked, confused by what she meant.

Zora sighed deeply and shrugged her shoulders, “Getting hit on.”

He laughed at first, but her serious expression made him realize something, “Wait, you’re serious?”

She looked embarrassed, her tan cheeks turned a dark pink, but she still shot him a glare, “What? It’s not like I want people to treat me weird.”

“Treat you weird?” He questioned, “Is that what you felt happened last week?”

“Obviously,” she was giving him a look of disbelief, “It’s weird to say that kind of stuff to a complete stranger. Besides, I could care less about appearances—I’d rather be desired for my personality or accomplishments than my looks.”

“Huh,” Sanji never thought about it like that. He always has admired women for their beauty, their delicate bodies, their soft skin. Zora was certainly beautiful, but her athletic physique and several scars across her skin were clear indications that she wasn’t some dainty damsel in distress. She wasn’t interested in Sanji sweeping her off her feet or being told what he tells every other woman. If Sanji wanted to woo Zora, he needed to change his technique.

“I don’t even know why I’m telling you this,” she blurted out before slamming the rest of her drink. Zora turned away as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, “This isn’t an invitation for you to keep trying. I’m just clarifying that I’m not interested in sleeping with you just because you like my outward appearance.”

Sanji felt like he’d just been hit in the face, “I get that my reputation isn’t the best, but you aren’t even giving me a chance.”

Zora looked him in the eye while she scoffed, “Give you a chance? For what—you to add another notch to your bedpost?” She shook her head in disgust, “Women don’t exist for your personal pleasure, and some of us aren’t interested in being some pretty boy’s toy for an evening.”

As she got up and walked away, Sanji tried to follow her, “Wait!”

She turned back around to look him in the eye and said, “Thanks for the drinks.” Then she turned her back on him and left him alone at the bar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Thank you so much for reading, I have the next couple chapters written and I'll be posting one hopefully every 24 hours or so.  
> I'm not entirely sure how far I'll take this, I might make it into a series depending on my inspiration and feedback I get.  
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	3. Busted Lip and a Black Eye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to amberaza for your comment on the last two chapters! Thank you so much for your words of encouragement, hope this chapter doesn't disappoint <3

The following Friday night, Sanji went back to the Thousand Sunny. He didn’t know if Zora would be there, and when he first showed up, she wasn’t up at the bar where she usually sat.

Instead of giving up and going off somewhere to flirt with random girls, Sanji stayed put at the bar. He realized it was a long shot, that there was a possibility of her not coming to the club tonight or going somewhere else. There was the chance she wasn’t going out at all—that she was staying home for the evening.

As he was contemplating in his mind all the other things she could possibly be doing on a Friday night, Zora sat down in the barstool to his right. He stared at her in shock, not because she sat down right when he had been thinking about her, and not because of the way her outfit perfectly clung to her fit body.

“Why do you have a black eye?!” He asked, horror laced in his voice.

A smirk crossed her busted lip, “You should see the other guy.”

Sanji was appalled, “Why would you be getting in a fight with someone?!”

Zora rolled her eyes, “I’m a cop. Had to chase a guy today.”

He raised his eyebrows, “You’re a cop?”

“You sound surprised,” she pointed out with humor.

He blinked, one, two, three times before letting out a breath and saying, “Just not what I was expecting.”

She nodded her head once and waved to the bartender, “I’ll take a triple whiskey, neat.”

“On me,” he instructed them while shooting a smile to Zora.

Sanji watched as she waited for her drink to be delivered by the bartender then drank the whole thing in one go. She held it back out towards them to refill her glass. Zora didn’t drink that one yet, instead she held the glass between her hands and asked, “What’re you doing sitting up at the bar?”

He decided to tell her the truth, “I was hoping you’d be here; and when you weren’t, I decided to wait for you.”

Zora’s eyebrows were raised in amusement as she brought her glass to her smiling lips for a sip. She gave him a sideways glance and chuckled, “You’ve been sitting at the bar waiting for me? How’d you know I’d even come here?”

He shook his head in embarrassment and answered honestly, “I didn’t know if you would, I just was hoping to see and talk to you again.”

Her emerald eyes were focused on him, the right one swollen and bruised, but Sanji still found her beautiful. She opened her mouth, her lower lip had a cut on it, he wanted to know what it would feel like pressed against his. “Sanji, look I—”

“I know what you’re going to say,” he quickly interrupted her, “That you aren’t interested in sleeping with me—and that’s not what I want.” Now that he had her attention, he started off by saying, “You aren’t interested in me for my looks, my fame, my money—I don’t even think you’re interested in me at all—but I like that you treat me like a regular person.”

She looked down at the glass in her hands, “I like being treated like a regular person, too.”

“Zora,” he waited until she looked him in the eye, “I know that you aren’t looking for a romantic relationship, but I’d like to at least be friends.”

“Look, Sanji,” she sighed, “I don’t know why you are so interested in me,” she disregarded him.

“It’s because you’re different and I like that about you,” Sanji felt like he was pleading with her, begging almost.

She continued sipping her drink, and Sanji waited until she decided to speak, “You barely know me.”

“So, let me get to know you, Zora!” He couldn’t help that he was frustrated. He just didn’t know what to say other than her previous words, “I want to know you well enough to praise you for your achievements and personality rather than your looks.”

The blush that crossed her cheeks gave him a funny feeling in his stomach. Her tongue darted out to lick at the cut on her lip, “I’m used to shutting people out, it’s easier that way.”

He assumed she must’ve lost someone important in the past and said, “That doesn’t mean you should. No one deserves to be lonely. I’m sure your friends and family wouldn’t want that.”

“I’m not lonely,” she began to mumble under her breath, clearly getting irritated by what he was saying.

“Why do you keep acting so hostile towards me? I am just trying to get to know you, figure out what makes you so fucking special. I know you think I’m an asshole, but I want you to make that opinion for yourself and not listen to what the damn tabloids say.” Sanji never spoke to women like this, he never had to. Most women were easy to impress and please, Zora was something else entirely.

Sanji watched her finish the rest of her drink and order a third. He sighed and finally paid attention to his own drink. All he wanted was to get to know this woman, learn about her, figure out how she operates. Who knew women were so complicated?

She set down her half-empty glass of whiskey, turned to him and said, “Because, I’m a cop.”

He widened his eyes and shook his head, “What’s that got to do with anything?!” God, Sanji had never been this desperate for a woman’s attention.

She rolled her eyes and waved her hand, “It means that I look at things from every possible angle, and no matter how I look at this,” she gestured with her finger between their bodies, “I can’t see us being _friends_ working out.”

He shook his head, “What’re you talking about? What’s the big deal?”

“You don’t fucking get it, Sanji. I’m not as stupid as you seem to think I am.” She finished her drink and shot him a glare, “I’m not interested in having a relationship with you. How many times do I have to say it before you fucking listen?”

“I have listened—I know you don’t want that—that’s why I want to be friends!” He didn’t know why she was implying that they couldn’t be friends. It was nonsense!

Zora rolled her eyes dramatically, “You want to become friends, so I can get to know you and fall for your charms. I’m not interested. I will never be interested. Good night.”

Sanji didn’t watch her as she walked away, too stunned by what she’d said. He didn’t realize it might appear that way to her, but he honestly hadn’t been planning on that at all. He genuinely wanted to be her friend, because she was honest with him, more than anyone else. Sanji was used to hearing people praise him, but Zora could care less.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, thank you so much for reading thus far. There will be at least two more chapters, they will be posted in approximately 24 and 48 hours.  
> Please leave a comment and let me know what you think of the story!
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	4. Girl's Night Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, Youkoartemis, for your comments, I am glad you are enjoying the story <3

When Sanji went to the Thousand Sunny one week later, he was surprised to see Zora sitting at a table instead of up at the bar. There were three other women with her and together they had a very wide range of hair colors.

Before he thought things through, Sanji made his way over to their table and gave them his best smile, “Evening ladies, could I buy you all a round of drinks?”

One woman with long orange hair instantly responded with a smug smile, “That would be wonderful! I’d like a daiquiri.”

“OH! I’ll have a strawberry margarita!” The one with curly pink hair squealed.

The last woman who sat beside Zora had long blue hair and politely asked, “Would you get me a water, please?”

Sanji offered her a sincere smile, “Of course, it would be my pleasure.” Then he turned to Zora and confirmed, “Triple whiskey, neat?”

Her cheeks flushed pink and she avoided eye contact while nodding her head in answer.

While he was walking away from the table, he heard one of the women ask, “THAT’S the guy you’ve been talking about?!”

He was too far away to continue hearing their conversation. Part of him did want to know exactly what Zora had said about him, but the more rational part of him decided he was better off not knowing.

After getting the drinks, he carried the tray over to the table they were seated at, “Here you are, ladies~”

There was a chorus of ‘thank you’ and Sanji was just about to leave until the orange haired woman suddenly asked, “Is it true that you have a new woman every night?”

“Nami!” The blue-haired woman shouted.

Sanji blinked at her, shocked and horrified by being put on the spot. He was trying to figure out what to say when Zora spoke up, “Goddamnit Nami! You can’t just _ask_ someone that!”

He was certain that none of them were expecting him to answer, and decided to come clean, “I actually haven’t been with anyone for a few weeks.”

The only one who looked surprised by his admission was Zora. She was staring at him wide-eyed with her mouth open. Eventually she closed it and huffed, “I can’t fucking believe you.”

“What? If you have something to say to me, say it,” he told her boldly with a smirk.

Zora chugged her glass of whiskey and slammed it on the table before pushing her chair back, scraping against the floor. She walked forward and acused, “You haven’t gotten laid since we met.”

Sanji was standing face-to-face with her as he said, “Yes, that’s true.”

She hardened her stare, “Why?”

He couldn’t help but notice the faint bruising that lingered around her eye, or the fact that her lip was healed, but there was still the sign of new tissue where it had been split open. Sanji pushed down his pride, his desire to be liked and to please, and told her the truth, “Because I want the next person I sleep with to be you.”

Zora’s scowl deepened and she shook her head, “That’s never gonna happen.” She stepped aside and walked away, leaving the club.

Sanji stood there by her friends in silence until the one with pink hair said, “I can’t believe she didn’t punch you.”

He closed his eyes and groaned, “Fuck.”

“Look dude,” the orange-haired woman began to speak, “Zora is our friend and none of us want to see her get hurt. So, if you plan on getting her to sleep with you once just so you can toss her aside, we won’t hesitate to make you pay.”

“I swear it’s not like that!” He wished he could smoke inside more than ever and instead ran his fingers through his hair, “I can’t explain it—there’s just something about her that makes me want to change the way I look at things. I like that she doesn’t give a shit about who I am and just sees me for me.” He sighed, dejectedly, “Some jackass playboy who only looks skin deep.”

“She doesn’t think that about you,” the blue-haired lady tried comforting him.

The other two nodded their heads, and the pink-haired woman said, “Yeah, Zora admires your determination and drive. People who fight to accomplish their dreams and reach their goals are her weakness.”

Nami added, “She wants you to change for her, she is just too stubborn and proud to admit it.”

Sanji took a deep breath, then let it out, “I _have_ been changing. I used to go home with a new woman every night, but ever since the night I met her, I haven’t been able to get her off my mind. She’s all I can fucking think about—I want to spend time with her more than anyone. But it’s like the only woman I’ve ever _truly_ wanted is the only one I can’t have.”

They were all quiet for a moment, taking in what Sanji had said. Then the blue-haired woman asked, “Have you ever been in love before?”

He scoffed, “Of course, I’ve had girlfriends.”

“Just because you’ve had a girlfriend, doesn’t mean you were in love,” Nami pointed out.

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the woman and asked, “What’re you getting at?”

Nami took a sip of her daiquiri through a straw, then said, “You come off as this suave guy who knows everything about romance, but you’ve never actually been in love with someone before.”

His ears were burning, he knew he was blushing like crazy, “What’s that got to do with anything?” Sanji sighed and tried to explain, “I told her I wanted to be friends. I shouldn’t’ve said that I wanted to sleep with her. I just—it can’t end like this.”

The woman with pink hair stirred her strawberry margarita and asked, “You don’t want to have a failed conquest? Or you don’t want things to end with _her?”_

Sanji shook his head, “It’s not like that. I already told you—Zora’s the only woman I want.”

Nami stopped tapping her nails on the table, “Well then, we should properly introduce ourselves. I’m Nami, that’s Perona—Zora’s cousin—and this is Vivi, my fiancé.”

He smiled at the three women, “It’s wonderful to meet you all, but I don’t understand—”

Perona cut him off by saying, “We’ll talk to Zora. Just be here again next Friday.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> Thank you so much for reading! There will for sure be a couple more chapters, so stay tuned!  
> Please leave a comment and let me know what you think!
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	5. Get to Know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, hunterhazard, for your comment on the last chapter, I hope you enjoy this one just as much <3

It had been over a month since he first met Zora and Sanji still hasn’t gotten laid. Not because he couldn’t—oh, no, he could easily find himself a willing partner—he himself just wasn’t willing. His self-esteem had taken a hit, due to the fact his reputation was so terrible that it had caused someone he _really liked_ to _not_ want to sleep with him. It’s gotten to the point where Sanji doesn’t want some meaningless hook-ups anymore.

Without a doubt, there was something special about the green-haired woman police officer who Sanji couldn’t get out of his mind. He realized it was ridiculous for him to be so wrapped up in a woman who was so obviously not interested in him, but even so, Sanji was on a mission.

For starters, he needed to apologize for what he said to her last week. He didn’t want her to have the wrong idea about his intentions for their relationship. Secondly, he was going to tell her that he really was okay with them just being friends. All he knew, was that he wanted to keep seeing her and continue being a part of each other’s lives. And thirdly, he had to figure out a way to stop thinking about her romantically all the time.

He had been outside the Thousand Sunny, smoking a cigarette, when he heard a familiar voice say, “I always had a suspicion you smoked.”

When he turned his head in her direction, his jaw dropped, and his cigarette nearly fell from his open mouth. Zora was wearing a fucking dress—he’d never seen her in a dress before—and it certainly left nothing to the imagination.

Sanji greedily sucked on the smoke stick and internally berated himself for being a damn pervert before answering, “Yeah, bad habit, I guess.”

She grunted in affirmation, “Those things can kill ya, you know.”

As Sanji chuckled, smoke came out of his mouth, “We’re all gonna die someday. I’d rather live a life filled with risk than a boring one.”

Zora was smiling at him as she took two steps closer, then reached forward, plucked the cigarette from between his lips, and brought it to her own for a drag. She blew the smoke into the wind and said, “Me too.”

He raised his eyebrow and watched as she finished the rest of his cigarette and flicked the butt onto the ground. Sanji swallowed the lump in his throat and pleaded, “Zora, listen, about last week—I’m really sorry.”

Her green eyes met his and in their depths were a thousand unasked questions.

“I shouldn’t’ve said what I did. I knew you weren’t interested in me, but I didn’t care—I was only thinking of what I wanted.” He let out a deep breath and shook his head, “I’m so sorry.”

“Tsk,” Zora scowled at him and sarcastically said, “I thought you wanted to be friends.”

“I do want to be friends!” He told her desperately, “I want to understand what it is about you that won’t let me think of anyone else!”

She shook her head, “God, you’re such an idiot—Nami was right.”

Sanji stared at her, shocked, “What?”

Zora gestured with her head for him to follow her, “Come on, let’s go inside.”

He wasn’t about to argue with her and walked behind her into the club. Sanji couldn’t stop himself from noticing the gentle sway of her hips as she walked or the way her dress stopped right below her ass. The soft cream color of the dress popped against her tan skin and the halter style showed off her flawless back. Never in his life had he been in this kind of situation before—where the woman he’s interested in was completely uninterested—but he wasn’t going to complain about being with her.

They sat down at the bar in their usual spots, Sanji ordered himself a glass of merlot and Zora ordered a triple whiskey, neat. After taking a few sips of their drinks, Zora ended up asking, “What’s your favorite color?”

Sanji raised his eyebrow, “Seriously?” She turned the corner of her lips up into a smile and shrugged. He took a deep breath, “Uh, okay. Green.”

“Green’s your favorite color?” She asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, it is. What’s your favorite color?” He rolled his eyes and took another drink of his wine.

She smiled, thoughtfully, “I’ve always liked blue.”

He had been about to set down his glass, instead he brought it back to his lips for another drink. Today he was wearing his favorite blue shirt that matched his eyes. Sanji turned to the woman beside him and smiled, “Do you, now?”

Zora nodded her head with a smile, “Yeah, it’s pretty.”

They held eye contact with each other for a few moments longer than normal. Her green eyes were stunning, there were so many shades of the color from a deep emerald to a pale seafoam. She was the first to look away and quickly finished off the rest of her whiskey.

“I’ll have another,” she said to the bartender. After her glass was refilled, she took a long drink before setting it down on the bar top.

“What kind of food do you like?” He asked her, sensing what it was she was trying to do.

The corner of her mouth twitched, “Japanese. My mother’s from there.”

He hummed in acknowledgement, “And where are you from?”

She shrugged, “Nowhere, really. My father was in the Marines, so we moved around a lot while I was growing up.”

“Must’ve been hard to make any friends,” he commented.

“I guess,” she took another drink of whiskey, “I never really cared about that. As long as I could still train.”

“Train for what?”

She looked at him smugly, “The police academy.”

Sanji nodded his head and turned back to his drink. In the short time they’ve been talking tonight, he had found out more about her than he had the past four times they’d met. He realized he never talked to any woman like this before.

“What is it that you do, exactly?” She suddenly asked, then tried to explain herself, “I mean, I know you’re famous for something, but I don’t actually know what for.”

“I’m a chef,” he told her casually, “I own several restaurants, judge competitions, and have written a couple cookbooks. It’s really not that big of a deal, I just get a lot of attention because of my looks and interest in my personal life.”

When he looked over at her, she was staring at him in awe, “I never would’ve guessed that.”

He shrugged and tilted his glass towards her, “Can’t judge a book by its cover.”

She clinked her glass with his, “No kidding,” and finished her drink.

After watching Zora order a third drink, Sanji quickly finished his first and ordered a second. He took a sip from the fresh glass, then turned back to Zora, “What was your favorite subject in school?” He saw her about to answer and quickly added, “And you can’t say gym class.”

Zora closed her mouth, turned to her drink and took a sip, then turned back to him and answered, “Math.”

Sanji raised his brow, “Really?”

She nodded, “Numbers make sense.”

He chuckled at her and shook his head, “I fucking sucked at math.”

“Let me guess, you liked literature—flowery poems and shit like that,” she teased with a smile.

“So, what if I did?” He asked with a grim tone. Sanji swirled the wine in his glass and said, “I always liked to read, it’s a nice way to escape real life.”

“And why would you want to do that?” She quietly asked.

He scoffed, “Because real life sucks.”

As he downed the rest of his wine, he could feel Zora’s eyes on him. He didn’t dare look at her, too nervous to see the look on her face.

“If you think your life sucks, change something about it.”

Immediately, he rose to the challenge and lifted his gaze to look her in the eye, “What do you think I’m doing?”

She turned away to finish off her whiskey and set the glass on the bar, then turned back to him and said, “I think you are doing a pretty good job.”

There was a faint smile across her lips and Sanji could think of nothing other than kissing them.

“Wanna get outta here?” She asked.

“Uh…yeah,” he waved the bartender over to close his tab and gave him his credit card.

They walked out of the club and Zora began to talk animatedly, “I’ve lived in all sorts of places; small towns that only had a gas station, a bar, and a church and now New York City. When you live in the middle of nowhere it can be easy to forget how big the world really is. I like going for walks this time of night, seeing all the lights and people, it helps me remember that I’m not alone and there are other people just as crazy as I am.”

Sanji smiled at the woman walking beside him, “I don’t think you’re crazy.”

Zora stopped walking for a moment to say, “You don’t know me very well.”

He wanted to object, tell her that he knew her better than he knew most women, but he realized that she was proving a point. Sanji had never really gotten to know a woman before, all he ever did was sleep with them and enjoy their bodies for a night, not the person they were underneath.

“I do miss being able to see the stars,” she said quietly.

Sanji looked up at the night sky, void of stars due to them being in the city that never sleeps.

“My mother always said they told a story, now they always make me think of her,” Zora gave him a sad smile, “She was my best friend.”

“What happened to her?”

“She uh,” Zora licked her lips, “She fell down the stairs and broke her neck when I was ten.”

“Fuck. I’m sorry, Zora,” he knew all too well what that felt like and said, “I lost my mother to cancer when I was the same age, but I at least knew it was going to happen eventually…”

Zora nodded her head, “It was shocking, she was the strongest woman I’ve ever known—it was hard to accept that a stupid accident could kill her.” She turned to look him in the eye, “I’m sorry about your mother. No matter what you might say, I know it wasn’t easy.”

Sanji stared into her eyes and wondered aloud, “Where have you been my whole life?”

She cracked a smile and chuckled, “Come on, there’s something I wanna show you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> Thank you all so much for reading! I hope you are enjoying the story, leave me a comment and let me know what you think!  
> There is still more to come, so please stay tuned!
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	6. Confessions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again, amberaza, for commenting! I get so excited when I see a new comment and appreciate your continued feedback on this story. I hope you continue to enjoy it <3

He had no idea where she was leading them, and Sanji was positive that they had already walked across this street. Despite the fact that they were most certainly lost, Sanji was enjoying himself. They talked about their jobs, what shows and movies they like, and their favorite sports teams. As it turns out, they are both fans of action films and the New York Knicks.

Eventually, they found themselves in Central Park sitting on a bench overlooking The Lake. Zora took a deep breath and slowly let it out, “You know, when I first met you, I assumed you were some stuck up snob who never worked a day in your life.” She turned to him with a smile, “I’m glad I was wrong.”

“I’m glad you gave me another look,” he smiled back.

Zora crossed her legs and angled her knees towards him, “Why are you so interested in me?”

Her question caught him off guard. Sanji normally would answer a question like this by telling the woman how beautiful she looks. He realizes now that was the easy way, and Sanji wanted to change. He inhaled a deep breath of air, Sanji needed to be honest, “There’s just something about you I’m scared to lose because I know I won’t find it in anyone else.”

When he turned his head, their eyes met and Zora was looking at him in a whole new way, “You’re scared to lose me?”

He licked his lips and slowly nodded his head, “Yeah, you aren’t even mine, but the thought of you talking and being like this with someone else—” Sanji grit his teeth, “Hurts too much to think about.”

“Don’t worry about that,” she told him casually.

Sanji turned his body to face hers, “How can I not? Ever since I met you, I can’t get you out of my mind. You are this incredible, strong, confident woman who could get any guy to fall in love with you. And I’m a fucking jackass for thinking like this—I told you I wanted to be your friend—but fuck, I want so much more than that.”

Zora stared at him with wide eyes, “What are you saying?”

Swallowing his pride, he put his heart on the line, “I’ve never felt like this before. I didn’t think about looking past a pretty face until you forced me to look past yours. Now I want to learn everything there is to know about you. I thought I knew what it felt like to be in love, but I honestly had no idea. I never realized it would be so painful. I never knew it was so terrifying to imagine losing someone I’ve never even had. The truth is, I could care less about other women, because I’m in love with _you_ , Zora.”

She blinked a couple times and opened her mouth, then closed it and opened it again. Zora looked him in the eye then suddenly she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.

For a moment, Sanji was frozen, too shocked by what seemed to be a sudden turn of events. Then his brain stopped short-circuiting and he remembered how to kiss. He brought one of his hands to her face and cupped her cheek. Sanji opened his mouth and licked her lips, Zora parted them and let his tongue inside. He ravaged her mouth, explored every nook and cranny, and found out what heaven tasted like.

As they kissed, he felt something he never had felt before when kissing a woman. He felt like he could reach out and touch her soul, her very essence. Sanji felt like he had finally found the person his heart has been searching for.

When they parted for air, they pressed their foreheads together and smiled at each other. Sanji gazed into her eyes and commented, “I never expected you to kiss me.”

She asked him earnestly, “Isn’t that what you wanted?”

His smile grew wider, “I’ve wanted to kiss you for a very long time.”

Zora stared at him, looking completely exposed, “Me too.”

Sanji felt like his heart was in his throat. He hadn’t been expecting that, not at all.

“I didn’t want to fall in love with you—I figured I’d only get my heart broken and I still might, but…” Zora reached forward and brushed his hair from his face, exposing his other eyebrow and gazed into both his eyes as she admitted, “I don’t want to fight it anymore.”

He took a deep breath as he cupped her cheeks with his hands and asked, “You were fighting this?”

Her gaze fell to her lap, “I don’t want to be treated like I’m disposable.”

Sanji frowned at her words, “Zora, look at me.” He waited for her eyes to meet his to say, “I’ve been trying to show you that you’re not—you’re the furthest thing from disposable—you’re irreplaceable. I could never find another woman like you, even if I searched for the rest of my life.”

Zora’s cheeks became warm under his hands as she whispered, “I don’t know how to do this.”

“What do you mean?”

She desperately stared into his eyes, “Have a relationship.” Sanji’s hands fell to his sides and Zora sighed, “I’ve never been in a relationship.”

“Then we’ll take it slow,” he reassured then pleaded, “Whatever you want, Zora. I’ll do whatever it takes to make us work.” Sanji reached forward again and caressed her cheek, “I fell in love with the way you touched me without using your hands. The way you got to know my mind and that I got to know yours. The attraction I feel for you comes from a something much deeper than looks. Don’t get me wrong, I still find you beautiful—the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen—but this is something completely different.”

He took her hand and placed her palm above his heart, “Feel that—the way our hearts connect? I can’t help but be drawn to you when our souls recognize each other and want to be together. You fought this? I was chasing it—I needed to know what it was.”

Her tan cheeks were bright red, “How was I supposed to know?!” She suddenly shouted, “You have a reputation for being a playboy who won’t settle on one woman! The first guy who shows any kind of interest in me is a notorious flirt! How was I supposed to feel?!” Zora looked him in the eye and confessed, “I was afraid I would just become another girl who meant absolutely nothing to you!”

For a moment, all Sanji did was stare back into her green eyes, seeing and feeling what she did for the first time. “Zora,” he began in a low voice, “The night we met I used a bunch of what you referred to as ‘cheesy’ pick-up lines on you and none of them worked. Do you remember what the very first thing I said to you was?”

She scrunched up her face, “You asked me what it felt like being the most beautiful woman in the room.”

Sanji smiled and nodded his head, “That’s right.” He pulled out a cigarette and lit the end of it to take a drag. After he released the smoke, he turned to Zora and said, “I have frequently reused compliments on women, but I’ve never asked someone that before.”

Zora looked him in the eye, unamused, “Am I supposed to be happy about that? I don’t give a shit about that kind of stuff.”

“I know, I know,” he sighed, he should’ve known it wasn’t going to be that easy, nothing was with Zora. “Listen—the night we met changed my life—I haven’t been the same since. The moment I had first laid eyes on you, I forgot about everything else going on around me. I had been out on the dancefloor with some girl I don’t even remember and left to go talk to you.”

“I never asked you to do that.”

“We were never given the option. This isn’t something we ask to happen. When I saw you, sitting there alone…” Sanji’s mind went back to that moment, “I thought to myself: ‘I am so damn lucky I don’t have to kick anyone’s ass to get to her.’ I couldn’t imagine why no one was already talking to you, because my entire being was screaming at me to make you mine.”

Her eyes widened with shock, “You don’t mean…”

Sanji nodded his head with a smile, “You were always special, from the very beginning—just like you said.”

Zora bit her lower lip as she smiled shyly. She wouldn’t make eye contact with him as she said, “It was weird cause at first I didn’t think anything of you, didn’t even realize you were famous. Then after that first night we met, I was seeing you everywhere I went with tabloid magazines. When you came to sit with me the second time…” Zora took a deep breath and faced him, “Well, I was really happy to see you.”

“Why?” He asked playfully, “Because you’d get a free drink?”

She laughed boisterously before answering, “No, it was because I knew you must’ve been thinking about me too.”

“I was.” He felt himself blush and admitted, “I never stopped thinking about you.”

“Me neither,” she smiled.

Sanji’s gaze fell to her smiling lips, and for once, he didn’t hold back his urges. He leaned forward and gave her a kiss. When he pulled away, he assured her, “You could never mean nothing to me, baby.”

Her tan cheeks flushed pink and she averted her gaze, “Quit being so sappy.”

He smirked at her reaction and lifted her chin up with his finger, “You don’t seem to mind.”

“I’m serious,” she wouldn’t meet his eye as she said, “As if I’d give a damn about that sort of thing.”

She really wanted to be stubborn about this. Sanji decided that two could play at that game and pulled her body flush against his own on the bench. He leaned down to huskily whisper in her ear, “Come on baby~ don’t be like that.” Her breath hitched when he nuzzled against her neck and placed a kiss at the base of her throat. Sanji then brought his hand to cup her cheek and turned her to face him, “It’s in my nature to show affection. Won’t you let me give it to you, my love?”

Zora’s green eyes were wide as she met his gaze. She seemed to be searching for something, until suddenly, she leaned forward and kissed him.

When she pulled away, he asked, “What did I do to deserve that?”

She pressed her cheek against his hand and closed her eyes, “I like it when you call me names.”

“Would you like if I called you my girlfriend?” Sanji knew he was smiling like an idiot, but he didn’t care, he thought he was smooth.

Zora opened her eyes and shot him a less than unimpressed look, “Okay you ruined it.”

Sanji began to panic as she tried to move away from him, “No!” He quickly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back to his side, “I’m sorry! We don’t have to put a label on anything—I know that this is all still new for you—”

“Sanji,” hearing her say his name made him pause and look at her. Zora was smiling beside him with a slight blush across her cheeks, “I would like that.”

He let out a sigh of relief, “You would?”

Zora nodded her head, “As long as you promise there won’t be someone I need to compete with.”

Her whole demeanor was rather shy and unsure. Sanji wanted to fix that and began to assure her, “Baby, there’s no one else—and as long as you’re mine, I won’t need anyone else.”

She flicked her green eyes up to meet his, “What if it takes me too long to be ready for…” Zora averted her eyes and whispered, “Sex?”

Sanji actually felt a little guilty she felt the need to ask. He frowned at the question, but reassured, “I’m not going to look for company elsewhere. I only want you from now on, baby.” Just in case that wasn’t enough Sanji added, “I would never force you into something you’re not ready for.”

He felt her body relax against his side and Zora rested her head on his shoulder, “Thank you.”

He smiled and kissed the top of her head once his arms were snuggly wrapped around her. He couldn’t be certain how long it was they sat like that, staring out at the water, but Sanji had never been happier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> A lot of new information has been dropped in this story, please feel freee to let me know in a comment what you think! I love hearing from my readers, it makes writing more fun!  
> I already have the next chapter written, I will post it in approximately 24 hours after final edits have been made, so stay tuned!
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	7. Front Page News

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to Angel1622 for your comments last chapter. As promised, here is number seven with some more insight on the situation. Hope you enjoy <3

Monday morning rolled around and, on her way to work, Zora stopped at the coffee shop that was nearest to her precinct. It also just so happened to be where Perona worked.

The bell chimed as she entered the shop and her pink-haired cousin smiled as she walked up to the counter, “Zora—did you see any magazines on your way here?”

She raised an eyebrow, “No, should I have?”

Perona shook her head and thrust a stack of magazines into her hands, “Take a look.”

Zora turned her attention to the tabloid magazines and already recognized her boyfriend’s face. _Sanji Black Settling Down? Hasn’t been seen with a woman in weeks, insider source says he’s, ‘found the one.’_ She felt her cheeks heating up after reading that headline and looked at the next magazine.

 _What Happened? The notorious playboy, Sanji Black, hasn’t brought a woman home in weeks. Has he lost his game_? Zora scoffed.

There were four more magazines, but Zora didn’t want to look at them. “Why should I care about what a magazine says?”

Perona used her best pouty face and argued, “Because he’s doing it all for you!” Still, Zora didn’t budge, so Perona continued to say, “He’s changed so much that it’s on the front page of the tabloids!”

She finally let out a long, loud sigh, “Perona, you know I don’t care about that kind of stuff—I don’t care to read about speculations on what’s going on in someone else’s life.”

Her cousin was shaking her head with a smug smirk, “You don’t get it, do you?”

Zora rolled her eyes, “Get what?”

Perona giggled in a way that only she could, then pointed out, “If you are Sanji Black’s girlfriend, you are going to end up in one of these things yourself.”

Suddenly, Zora’s whole body froze. She hadn’t considered that. She hadn’t considered that at all. She idly thought about the night they kissed in Central Park and wondered if someone could’ve been taking their photo.

“Hey, I didn’t mean to freak you out or anything,” Perona was making her a cup of coffee as she explained, “I just thought you might take some interest in what people are saying about your boyfriend.”

She snapped out of whatever sort of trance she’d been in and sighed, “I can’t believe I told you that.”

“How could you _not_ tell me that he asked you to be his girlfriend?! He’s literally _all_ you’ve been talking about for _weeks_ and you’ve practically been _begging_ me to go out with you every Friday night. Do you think it was a coincidence that Nami asked us to go out with her and Vivi?” Perona gave her a scolding look before shaking her head, “I’m just glad you two have each other’s phone number now and can talk whenever you want.”

Zora was too embarrassed and ashamed of the truth to say anything. She hadn’t exactly been as indifferent towards Sanji as she let on. Perona didn’t even know the true extent of Zora’s obsessiveness, and she never would.

“Anyway, here’s your coffee,” Perona handed over the travel cup of coffee with a smile, “Be careful, it’s hot.”

She knew her cousin wasn’t just talking about the coffee and nodded her head, “Thanks, Perona.”

As she left the coffee shop, Zora pulled out her cell phone and dialed Sanji’s number. She silently wished for him to answer, even though he was probably working.

“Hey baby,” his voice answered deeply over the phone.

Immediately, a smile formed across Zora’s face, “Hey, is this a bad time? I don’t want to bother you while you’re working…”

“No, no—now’s fine. I wouldn’t have my phone on me if I was really busy.” He took a deep breath and exhaled, Zora realized he must be smoking a cigarette.

She lightly chuckled, “We’ll have to do our best at keeping each other updated on our schedules.”

Sanji let out a long breath over the phone, “We will figure something out. Speaking of figuring things out, I’m sure you’ve already noticed the magazines—I don’t really know what else to say other than sorry.”

Zora shook her head, then remembered they were on the phone and spoke out loud, “There’s nothing to apologize for—they’re just stupid tabloids.”

He was still smoking on the other end as he said, “I know that, but still, I’m sorry you have to see that shit written about me. And I’m sorry that they’re gonna write about you too once they find out.”

She sighed into the phone, “Yeah, I’m still not sure how I feel about that.”

Sanji seemed to be in just as much distress over their situation and sighed, “I wish you wouldn’t have to get dragged into this.”

“How haven’t I already? We’ve only ever hung out in public—someone could’ve seen us together at the Thousand Sunny, or while we were out walking,” Zora groaned in frustration, “Or when we were at Central Park.”

He let out a deep breath of air, “The paparazzi usually waits outside my building. That’s how they know I haven’t been sleeping with any women.”

Zora scrunched up her nose in disgust, “That sounds like a complete invasion of privacy.”

“It’s not like they can come inside or anything,” Sanji paused for a moment before admitting, “They sometimes talk to the women after they leave.”

She wasn’t surprised by what he’d said, but that didn’t mean she was unaffected by it. “Umm, are they always at your apartment?”

“Usually,” Sanji cleared his throat, “Listen, we can try and figure something out to prevent a news spread. Maybe we just won’t go to my apartment together or hang out at your place, I don’t know.”

Zora nodded, “Yeah, okay—that could work.” She could see her precinct down the street, “Hey, I am almost to work.”

“Alright, I should probably get to work, too.” He groaned dramatically, “I have to go on live television later today to promote my new cookbook. It’s been planned for months, but I know they’re going to ask about what’s going on and I’m not sure what to tell them.”

Everything he’d just said completely surprised her, “I didn’t know any of that.”

“Yeah, I guess I was nervous to bring it up.”

She smiled and shook her head, “I don’t mind if you say you’re with someone—I just don’t want everyone to know who I am…at least not yet.”

“That’s fine—totally fine,” she could hear the smile in his voice while he said, “That’s perfect, actually.”

Zora hummed, “Alright, text me the channel and time so I can watch.”

“Will do, my love, will do.” Sanji sighed contently, “I’ll talk to you later, hope you have a good day.”

“Yeah, you too,” Zora nibbled on her lower lip, unsure of how to end the phone call.

Sanji chuckled lightly, “I love you, bye.”

“Bye,” she felt herself blushing as she ended the call with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> Thank you for reading! Please stay tuned, chapter eight will be out in the next 24 hours and guess what-it's Sanji's interview.  
> Please leave a comment and let me know what you think of the story. Are you as excited for the next chapter as I am? Let me know!
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	8. The Interview

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to Angel1622, hunterhazard, and amberaza for your comments last chapter!  
> I am so so happy to hear that you are all enjoying the story!  
> As promised, here is Sanji's interview. I tried to make it longer, but it's still only about 1,000 words.  
> Hope it still lives up to the hype, enjoy <3

Zora was already home from work by the time Sanji was having his televised interview. He had texted her the information earlier in the day and now that it was only five minutes away, she was getting impatient for it to start.

She sat on her couch in an old t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants with her long green hair in a messy bun atop her head. Beside her was a bowl of popcorn that she was periodically eating from as she waited for Sanji to be called out on the stage. Zora never really watched these types of shows, but Ivankov was one of the most popular talk shows on television, so she’s at least heard of them. Afterall, they were well-liked for their outlandish personality and ability to entertain a live audience. People would talk about what had been on their show for the rest of the week, until the next episode.

Her interest was brought to her television as soon as Ivankov announced, “And now, our next guest is here to tell us about his latest cookbook, Sanji Black!”

The audience was clearly excited, as their cheering intensified once Sanji stepped out onto the stage, smiling and waving as he walked towards Ivankov to shake their hand.

Once the audience had settled down and they were in their seats, Ivankov smiled, “Thank you so much for coming on my show, Sanji.”

“Thank you for having me, it’s a pleasure to be here.” Sanji was wearing an expensive-looking suit, but Zora thought his smile was what looked absolutely perfect.

“It is always a pleasure to have you on the show,” Ivankov told him, then said, “Now, it is my understanding that your newest cookbook is coming out soon, tell us about that.”

Sanji’s smile grew wider as he told them, “Yeah, it’s called _Seafood for Everyone._ As the title suggests, it is filled with some of the best seafood recipes I’ve found from all around the world. Some of them are variations of local recipes and have information about the local cuisine of small islands I’ve visited in the Pacific. There are multiple recipes for each kind of seafood, so there should be something for everyone.”

Judging from the way he spoke about food and cooking it was obvious how much he loved what he did. As they talked about Sanji’s craft, Zora was too busy watching the way his face lit up as he talked about food that she actually zoned out. However, it wasn’t long before she once again became focused on what was being said.

“Now Sanji, I gotta ask the question that’s been on everyone’s mind: What’s been going on with you lately?” Ivankov looked absolutely befuddled, “You haven’t been bringing the ladies back to your place—everyone’s worried about you—people think something must be wrong! But then there are also the rumors that you’ve met someone special—what can you tell us?”

Sanji was smirking, scratching his goatee as Ivankov freaked out. Zora thought it was amusing, how worked up people could get over rumors. Sanji licked his lips, then smiled widely, “I actually _have_ met someone. She’s unlike any woman I’ve ever known—she’s changed me.”

Ivankov raised their eyebrows, “So it’s true then? Sanji Black _has_ indeed met a special someone?”

“Yes, it’s true,” Sanji’s smile grew wider and Zora swore she could see him blushing.

“So, what does this mean? Are you two exclusive with each other?” Ivankov asked curiously.

“Exclusive, yes.” His tone was cocky and confident as he added, “There isn’t another woman on this planet who could change my mind.”

The boisterous host clapped their hands together, “Oh boy, do I love a good romance! Tell me, Sanji—who is your mystery woman and how does she feel about your romantic history?”

He scoffed, “What do you think? It’s not like I’m proud of the reputation I’ve earned myself. It wasn’t easy to get to where we’re at but I’m going to continue trying to build her trust in me. Earlier today we talked about it and decided to hold off on announcing her identity. Our relationship is still new, so I don’t dare mess it up by giving up her privacy. I care about and respect her too much.”

“And I think we can all respect that.” Ivankov turned towards the audience, “Well you heard it here first folks! Sanji Black is officially off the market!”

The show switched to a commercial, but Zora was still staring at the screen, awestruck. She couldn’t believe what he’d just told everyone. She stayed like that until her phone began to ring a few minutes later.

She picked it up to see Sanji was calling her and quickly answered, “Hey.”

“Please don’t be mad, baby.”

“Mad? Why would I be mad?”

He let out a breath of relief, “Holy fuck! That was so goddamn stressful—you watched it right?”

“Yes, I watched it—I thought you did great,” she told him honestly. Zora asked with curiousness, “Were you really that stressed out? I couldn’t tell from watching you.”

“Oh my—fuck yes I was stressed!” Sanji sounded like he was about to explode from frustration. “I couldn’t stop thinking I was going to say the wrong fucking thing and you were going to end up hating me.”

Zora laughed, “I think you’re being a little dramatic.”

“A little dramatic—” He took a deep breath, probably to try and calm down, before asking again, “So, you aren’t mad? You didn’t think I said too much?”

“No, I thought it was perfect, Sanji, really,” Zora smiled fondly and added shyly, “I wish you were here so I could kiss you.”

She heard him chuckle on the other end of the call, “I would love that.”

“Come over, then.” Zora said it before she realized the implication she might’ve made.

Luckily, Sanji didn’t seem to take it the wrong way and said, “If you send me your address, I can head over now. I’ll give you all the kisses you want.”

Zora’s smiled widened further, “Alright, I’ll text you.” Because honestly, how was she supposed to say no to that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> Thank you so much for reading, it means a lot. I love to hear your feedback, so please leave a comment and let me know what you think.  
> As always, there is more to come, so stay tuned. ;)
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	9. Alone Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to Literatedumbass, Bonefracture, and Rosalie for commenting on the last chapter. It is so nice to see new people getting interested in this story. I am very grateful to you all.  
> This chapter is about twice as long as normal, and I'll warn you all that it's gonna get a little heated.  
> Hope you enjoy <3

Half an hour later, Sanji was taking the elevator up to Zora’s floor in her apartment building. When the doors opened on the third floor, Sanji stepped out and looked at the sign on the wall that directed him left to her apartment number.

Once he arrived in front of her door, he brought his hand up to knock, then lowered it. Sanji was feeling incredibly nervous, he had butterflies in his stomach and his palms were sweaty. This was the first time he and Zora would be alone together, and he honestly didn’t know what to expect. He shook his head and once again brought his hand up to knock, this time succeeding.

After three knocks, Sanji heard movement on the other side of the door. He waited for a moment, then heard the deadbolt turn and the door opened, revealing his girlfriend in very casual attire.

She must’ve noticed him looking at what she was wearing and explained, “I already changed into my pajamas.”

Sanji unconsciously licked his lips, “I don’t mind.”

Zora blushed slightly and smiled at him, “Well, come on in.”

He stepped into her apartment and removed his shoes when he noticed she was barefoot. Sanji looked around at the apartment; there was a cozy-looking couch in what he assumed to be the living room, and the kitchen had stainless steel appliances. “Your place is quite nice,” he concluded.

“Thanks,” she walked over to the couch in the living room and sat down.

Sanji removed his suit jacket and hung it on the back of a chair, “I feel a little over-dressed.”

Zora turned around on the couch to look at him, “I think you look nice.”

He smirked at her as he loosened the striped tie he was wearing, “I hope so, this suit was custom tailored.”

She rolled her eyes and turned back around, “Whatever.”

Now, he didn’t know what to think about how she was acting; he wasn’t sure if she was upset and what for. Sanji finished removing his tie and laid it over his jacket. He then walked over to the couch and asked, “Hey baby, what’s wrong?”

He stood in front of the couch and waited for her to say, “Nothing.”

Sanji sighed in frustration before making himself comfortable on the couch beside her, “Positive?”

She met his gaze and slowly began to smile, “Yeah.”

He smiled back as he reached forward and jingled the three gold earrings that hung from her left ear, “I never noticed these before.”

“You’ve never seen me with my hair up,” she pointed out.

His eyes wandered over her figure, taking in her appearance before he told her, “I like it.”

Zora’s cheeks turned pink and she looked away.

Sanji laughed at her reaction to him complementing her and decided to take it a step further, “I like your whole look, actually—sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt?” He hummed deeply, then as seductively as he could muster, he asked, “Are you even wearing a bra underneath it?”

He watched with delight as Zora opened her mouth in shock and squirmed in her seat before saying, “It’s uncomfortable!”

It took him a few seconds to realize what she just admitted to him. Sanji blinked a few times, then asked for clarification “Wait, so you’re not wearing a bra right now?”

“Ugh!” Zora crossed her arms over her chest, “Of course I’m not wearing one! Who in their right mind wants to sleep with a bra on?!”

“I don’t know?!” He never thought that they might be uncomfortable, only what they looked like on a woman’s body. But now Sanji couldn’t stop imagining what Zora looked like under her t-shirt, knowing there was nothing but bare skin.

She sighed loudly before asking, “You’re wondering what I look like naked, aren’t you?”

Sanji stared at her with his eyes wide. He felt like an asshole, especially after he’d been called out. “I’m sorry—you’re just so…”

When he failed to continue his sentence, Zora encouraged, “I’m just so…what?”

He let out a frustrated huff. Sanji was unsure; he was still learning what kinds of things Zora responded positively to and didn’t want to say the wrong thing. Finally, Sanji just decided to say, ‘fuck it,’ and was going to be brutally honest.

“You’re just so goddamn sexy, baby. I can’t help but wonder what you look like under those clothes.” However, he didn’t want her to get the wrong impression and assured, “I look forward to the day you decide to show me.”

Her green eyes were scrutinizing him, most likely deciding if it was worth it to fight him over this or not. Eventually, she turned away and asked, “You really think I’m sexy?”

A grin formed on his face, “Oh yeah! You’re fucking _hot_. That’s how you caught my attention in the first place, but you weren’t having any of it.” Sanji laughed at his own expense, “You wouldn’t give me the time of day. I still can’t believe I actually get to call you mine.”

Zora turned to look at him with a sad smile, “I tried so hard to not let this happen.”

Sanji reached out to cup her cheek, and Zora put her hand on top of his. He gave her a gentle smile and calmly told her, “I’d do it all over again if it meant I still get you.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his lips to meet hers. It started out quite innocent, but quickly turned rather heated once Zora opened her mouth and began using her tongue.

In fact, Sanji was beginning to feel his dick getting hard. He tried not to think about it too much and focused on kissing her back. If Zora was willing to do this much, he wasn’t going to complain or waste the moment. He wanted her to become addicted, to crave his lips against hers. After waiting so long to know what they’d felt like, Sanji cherished the time they spent together like this, wrapped up in each other.

They broke apart for air, but Sanji continued kissing her, across her jaw, down her neck and back up again. He ran the back of his knuckles against her cheek and asked, “Is this okay?”

Zora nodded her head as she grabbed his other hand and held it against her chest, “You can feel them.”

His mouth twitched into a dopey smile. Sanji hadn’t felt this excited to touch a girl’s boobs since he was in middle school. He felt himself blush as he reached forward and cupped her breast through her shirt.

There was a softness and bounciness that he was able to notice, even through the fabric. He brought his second hand to the other one and pushed them together to judge their size. They weren’t very big, probably a B or C cup, and they were on the smaller side, but Sanji wasn’t interested in Zora because of how big her boobs were, so it really made no difference. He was just happy it was her and she felt comfortable enough to let him touch her like this.

When he glanced back up at her face, he saw that she was blushing furiously and chuckled, “Awwe, is my baby shy about being touched?” Sanji was going to take his hands off her, but Zora grabbed them when she felt him start removing them.

He raised his eyebrow in question, and Zora explained, “I like it.”

Sanji hummed deeply and boldly asked, “Do you want me to touch you under your shirt?”

Her blush deepened and Zora bit her lip while nodding her head.

If Sanji was going to do this, he wanted to make sure Zora would feel comfortable. He situated himself in the corner of the couch, then instructed, “Come sit between my legs.”

Zora hopped up from her spot on the couch and resituated herself between his legs, just like he asked. Sanji wrapped his arms around her thin waist and pulled her close to his chest. He kissed the top of her shoulder, then the side of her neck as his hands pulled up the bottom of her t-shirt and slipped underneath.

Her breath hitched when his fingers found her nipples, hard and erect. Sanji groaned against her neck and grinded his erection against her backside, “Fuck…”

He heard her gulp loudly, then ask breathlessly, “Is that your dick?”

Sanji’s dick twitched from being noticed. He kissed Zora below her ear and hummed in confirmation, “Yeah, it is.”

The last thing he was expecting was for Zora to push her ass against him and moan, “It feels big.”

He rolled her nipples between his fingertips and rocked his hips forward, “I’m sure it’s nothing you can’t handle.”

When he tugged slightly harder on one of her nipples, a high-pitched whine escaped from Zora. The sound actually made him pause for a moment, before repeating the action again, with even more force.

“Aaaah~!” Zora arched her back and her head fell to his shoulder. Her breasts were pushed further into his hands and her ass pressed harder against his dick.

Sanji could feel pre-come leaking from the head of his cock and took a deep breath as he continued to gently tease her sensitive nipples. He lazily kissed her neck, as it was the only skin exposed to him, and listened to her sweet moans. Neither of them had even removed their clothes, but Sanji was already thinking this was the hottest thing he’s ever done.

Zora began to squirm in his embrace and whined, “I can’t—I need you to make it stop.”

Immediately, Sanji stopped what he was doing and removed his hands from under her shirt. “Is that better? I’m sorry if I went too far—”

“Sanji,” she breathed his name and turned to look at him over her shoulder. Her green eyes were dark, filled with lust as she pleaded, “Keep making me feel good. Please…”

He closed his eyes and sighed, “Okay, just…” He was struggling with his own wants and desires, he didn’t want Zora to think she had to do any of this stuff yet, but it was hard to say no when she was practically begging to be touched by him. Sanji opened his eyes and met her gaze, “I’ll make you cum, okay baby?”

She gulped and closed her eyes before nodding her head.

Sanji realized that was the most he was going to get as a response and decided it was now or never. His stomach was in knots as he placed his hands on her knees and slowly moved them up to the center of her thighs. He pulled her legs further apart with one hand, while the other started rubbing small circles over the crotch of her sweatpants.

Her whole body shook against him and she moaned, “Ohhh~ Mmmm~”

He groaned from the friction against his aching member, and asked with a deep, husky voice, while still rubbing her crotch, “Can I go underneath?”

Zora nodded her head and pleaded, “Hurry.”

Part of him wanted to tease her about being so needy, but he didn’t want to discourage that kind of behavior. Instead he did as she asked, quickly slipping his hand down the waistband of her sweatpants and discovering the puddle between her legs.

Sanji actually gasped, “Oh my god, Zora, you’re so fucking wet, baby~”

A desperate whine left her and Sanji could honestly say it was the hottest sound he’s ever heard. Zora was such a strong-willed and stubborn woman, so hearing her come apart by his hand was bringing Sanji great pleasure.

When he finally slipped beneath her soaking wet underwear, Sanji’s fingers were met with slick, hairy skin. His breath got caught in his throat and he ended up sucking in a deep breath of air. He slid his fingers between her slick folds and managed to pinpoint her clit.

Once he started applying pressure and giving the tiny bundle of nerves attention, Zora’s mouth fell open and she began to moan louder.

He licked his lips and began to suck and pay attention to the base of her neck. Sanji closed his eyes and focused on the sounds she was making as he rubbed her clit. There was something incredibly satisfying about being the first person Zora’s let touch her in this way. It filled his chest with a sense of pride and with it an overwhelming desire to make sure no one else ever gets to see her like this.

Sanji started to rub quick circles over her clit and felt Zora grab at his wrist, most-likely feeling overwhelmed from her impending orgasm. He removed his mouth from her neck with a loud pop and used his other hand to capture her wrists, “You’re almost there, baby. Just let go.”

Zora’s eyes were squeezed shut, her mouth was open wide, and her nostrils were flared as a strangled moan escaped her throat. Her body shook against him as she was consumed by her orgasm. And Sanji didn’t stop touching Zora’s clit until she was no longer panting in pleasure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> Thank you all so much for reading! I hope no one feels violated after reading that, but honestly, I've written worse.  
> I just would like to say that I really appreciate all of the wonderful feedback I have been getting in the comments. I have been updating this story daily, so I haven't actually replied to most of you, but I assure you all that I read your comments and am trying my best to listen to any suggestions I'm given.  
> Next chapter will be out in 24ish hours, so stay tuned.  
> Please continue leaving your comments, they give me life in this sad time we live. Stay safe <3
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	10. Trying New Things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, thank you, thank you! Dragon_Unicorn99 I loved reading your comments on this story, I'm so glad you are enjoying it, I have no plans on putting a pause on it when I'm on such a role.  
> And amberaza, I am go grateful for all of your kind words of encouragement for this story. It makes me so happy to hear that you like the characters I am writing.  
> This is sort of a continuation of last chapter, so there will be sexiness ahead.  
> Hope you all enjoy <3

Zora sighed deeply and contently, “Fucking hell…” She fell back against Sanji’s chest and smiled, “That felt amazing.”

The man’s chest rumbled with a deep, warm laughter and asked, “Have you never touched yourself before?”

She felt herself blush and admitted, “No, never.”

Sanji hummed deeply and kissed her neck, Zora liked it when he did that, a lot.

When his hand was no longer down the front of her sweatpants, Zora watched him bring it up to his lips and lick his fingers. They made eye contact while he put them in his mouth and sucked.

Zora felt like her face was on fire. What Sanji was doing should feel degrading and wrong; but all that Zora could think about was how fucking sexy it was.

He began smacking his lips together and concluded, “You taste _good.”_

A shiver ran down her spine from his deep tone. It was easy to see how he was able to get so many women to sleep with him. Everything he did was for her pleasure and on her terms, he made her feel special. There was a part of her saying that he did this with all the girls, but Zora knew in her heart that wasn’t true.

Sanji didn’t seem to have any desire to do anything about the monster in his pants and Zora knew that he would never ask her to help him out with it, that he didn’t expect her to. She was certainly no expert, but she assumed it must get uncomfortable to leave something like that unattended for too long.

Zora trusted Sanji. She knew he wasn’t with her just for her body and that he would keep putting her needs before his own. It was an endearing quality to have, but she didn’t want his needs to be neglected altogether. Zora wanted to make Sanji feel just as good as he made her feel.

Without any hesitation in her movements, Zora got off the couch and down on her knees, then placed her hands on Sanji’s muscular thighs. He stopped licking his fingers and nervously asked, “What’re you doing?”

Zora licked her lips and gestured to the bulge in his pants, “Taking care of that.”

His blue eye was wide with shock and he began trying to dissuade her, “You don’t have to do that—I know you have never done this kind of shit before, so I don’t expect you to be—”

“What? Any good?” She challenged him with a smirk.

She watched with delight as his pale skin turned pink and he stuttered with his words, “No, no I didn’t say, say anything like that! I just meant that, uh, that you might not be, be come—comfortable with it.”

Her smirk grew wider and quite smug, “Well, I’m saying that I am. Are you comfortable with me sucking your cock?”

Sanji opened his mouth and only a squeak came out. He closed it and took a couple of deep breaths before nervously saying, “I’m not opposed to it.”

Zora began to grin and eagerly reached for his belt. She struggled a bit at first, since Sanji wasn’t trying to make her life any easier by helping, but eventually she got it unclasped. After opening the button on his dress pants, she pulled down the zipper and heard Sanji sigh in relief.

He wore navy blue briefs that just barely covered the package underneath. Zora gently pressed her fingers to his covered erection and muttered, “So big…”

Suddenly, Sanji stood up from the couch, pulling down his briefs and his pants along the way, and revealed his thick, long erection in all its glory. It was the first time she’d ever seen a man’s penis, but she thought it looked really nice. Zora adjusted her body, so he was right in front of her mouth, then grabbed it at the base and tentatively licked the wet tip.

A low moan was ripped out of Sanji’s throat, like he’d desperately wanted to hide how much he was affected by what she was doing. Zora took that as a challenge and boldly circled her tongue around the flared head of his cock. The noise that Sanji made sounded similar to a cow mooing.

Zora smiled and looked up at Sanji’s face while she wrapped her lips around him and pushed him further down her throat. She managed to get most of him in her mouth before gagging from how deep he was. When she blinked up at his awe-struck expression, she could feel wetness in the corners of her eyes.

He gently held the sides of her face and brushed away her fallen tears with his thumbs, “Your mouth feels so fucking good, baby…”

She was experimenting with her tongue and sucking with her mouth when she ended up swallowing around him, causing him to shout as hot, bitter fluid shot down her throat. She pulled his dick from her mouth and tried her best to make sure it was cleaned off before swallowing everything down.

When she looked up at Sanji’s face, his cheeks were bright pink, and his eyes were tightly closed. He didn’t say anything as he began pulling up his pants, resituating himself, and plopping back down on the couch.

She licked her lips, tasting the leftover cum that was around her mouth, then quietly asked, “Was it good?”

Sanji’s blue eye opened to meet her gaze. He was smirking in obvious satisfaction while he said, “A lot better than I ever imagined.”

Zora smiled with pride, “So, you’ve imagined me doing that to you?”

His blush deepened further, and he looked away, “Fuck, why’d I have to say that?”

She chuckled at him, then got up off her knees to join him on the couch. Zora lifted his arm over her shoulder and cozied herself up beside him, “So what should we do now?”

Sanji tightened his arm around her as he turned to look at her with his dazzling smile. “We could watch a movie,” he suggested, “Or start something on Netflix together.”

Zora nodded her head and grabbed the remote from the cushion to her right, “Okay, let me start looking for something…”

While she navigated on her SmartTV, Sanji started to ask, “How late do you want me to stay? It’s already almost eight.”

She shrugged her shoulders, “I dunno, I have to work at nine tomorrow, so I can stay up for a while.” Zora glanced up at him and teased, “Or are you wondering if you can sleep over?”

He quickly objected, “I did _not_ say that.”

Zora laughed, “I know, I know. You just get so cute when you’re flustered.”

Sanji hummed in amusement, “Ohhh, so now you think I’m cute, eh?”

Her cheeks began to warm, and Zora quickly turned her attention back to the tv, “Shut up, Curly.”

Now it was Sanji’s turn to laugh at her expense, “Alright, baby, whatever you say.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> Thank you all so much for reading! I can't believe this is the 10th chapter. When I first started writing this story a couple months ago, I had no idea if I was ever going to publish it because I always imagined making it a one shot. I'm glad I didn't do that, because I honestly never would've been satisfied. It means a lot to me that people have been reading and commenting. I oftentimes lose my drive when there is not a lot of feedback on a story, so I'm glad that hasn't been the case.  
> Please continue leaving your wonderful comments, even if you have a single sentence I will greatly appreciate it <3
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	11. Call in the Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to amberaza for commenting on last chapter! I appreciate the hell outta you, hope you enjoy this one, too <3

The following morning, Sanji woke up feeling happier than he’s been in a long, long time. Yes, he woke up alone, and no, he still hasn’t gotten laid, but that didn’t mean his night had been bad.

He’d left Zora’s apartment around eleven, after watching the first _Terminator_ film, and took a cab back to his own apartment, where for the first time he could remember, there wasn’t paparazzi waiting outside. It had been the perfect end to a perfect day.

After climbing out of his silky-soft sheets, he stretched his body while walking into the bathroom. He took off his sleep shirt and pajama pants, then turned on the showerhead.

When he stepped into the shower, Sanji got his hair wet and lathered his hands with shampoo. After he massaged the bubbles into his scalp, he took his body wash and poured a generous amount on his lime green loofa.

As he rubbed the soap against his body, his imagination began to run wild. He wondered what it would be like to shower with Zora. Probably a lot of fun. He suspected she’d be shy and nervous about such a thing, but after seeing how excited and adventurous she’d been last night, Sanji was beginning to think she might not be as hesitant to them fooling around as what he first expected.

Sanji still couldn’t get the image out of his head; Zora down on her knees, eagerly sucking him off. The combination of her inexperience and the fact it was _her_ had been too much for him to handle and resulted in an embarrassingly quick finish. Although, he probably wouldn’t’ve lasted much longer anyway considering how long it’s been since he was with someone sexually.

His drifting thoughts resulted in a proud boner. Since he’d be having a very busy day, Sanji knew this was going to be his only chance to jerk off and decided to indulge himself.

He wrapped his right hand around his shaft and gave it a firm tug. His hand was really no match compared to Zora’s mouth, but it was what he had to work with.

Sanji tried to pretend it was Zora who was touching him as he rubbed his thumb over his head. He remembered the way she gagged on his length, causing tears to fall down her cheeks. He pictured what she’d look like if he was shoved all the way down her throat and could imagine she’d look pretty damn wrecked. He continued to stroke himself faster as he wondered if she’d let him cum on her face, splattering her tan skin with his white jizz.

When Sanji came with a pleasured grunt, his semen was easily washed down the drain. Then he quickly finished the rest of his shower and got ready for the day.

By the time he left his apartment, it was seven in the morning. Sanji had always been an early riser and today was no different. He pulled his phone from his pocket and typed up a message to send to Zora, explaining that he was going to be busy all day.

~

When Zora stepped out of the shower, she heard her phone vibrate on the bathroom counter. She grabbed the soft, baby-blue towel from the hook on the wall beside the shower and started drying herself off.

After wrapping the towel around her chest, Zora picked up her phone and read the text she got from Sanji.

_Hey baby, I have to be at my restaurant most of the day, so I won’t be able to talk much. I’m on my way there now, it’s about a ten-minute walk. I hope you slept well. I had a wonderful time with you last night <3_

Since she had plenty of time to get ready, Zora decided to give Sanji a call.

It only rang once before he picked up with a chipper, “Hey! I wasn’t expecting to hear from you!”

Zora smiled to herself and teased, “I hope you aren’t disappointed.”

“No! Not at all!” Zora could hear the early morning traffic over the phone while he talked, “I just didn’t think you’d be up this early.”

“Oh, yeah I usually get up early to workout. My apartment building has a gym that I like to use. I actually just got done showering.”

“Mmmm,” Sanji hummed, “Sounds hot.”

That made her laugh, “Oh yeah, my mirrors are all fogged up from the steam.”

“No that’s—” He groaned, “Not what I meant.”

Zora wiped the mirror in her bathroom to look at herself, “I know exactly what you meant. You probably get off from the very idea of me dripping wet.”

Sanji sounded like he was going to choke, “Shit… Don’t say shit like that!”

“Why not? Is it not true?”

He groaned, “No, that’s not it—I just can’t get distracted today.”

She hummed in acknowledgement, “So you don’t want me to send you a picture of me in my towel?”

“Fuck—I mean…” Sanji was clearly struggling with what to say, “I don’t want to say no, but I also don’t want you to think you have to…”

Zora rolled her eyes, “Sanji, relax. You should know I’m not gonna do something I don’t want to.”

He sighed, “I know, I just worry.”

A smile tugged at her lips; Zora appreciated how considerate Sanji was always being. “You shouldn’t. I’m not that delicate, you know.”

Sanji chuckled, “I know, I’ve seen you pull off a black-eye.”

“Oh yeah?” She grinned in amusement, “I assumed you’d be more into the kind of girl who needs saving.”

“Yeah, I did too,” he told her casually, before saying, “Then I realized I was the one who needed to be saved.”

Zora felt herself blush. She shook her head and told him, “I can’t handle it when you say shit like that.”

He laughed loudly and joyfully, “Get used to it baby, cause there’s much more where that came from.”

She was nibbling on her lower lip, too embarrassed to say anything. Zora wasn’t used to this kind of thing, being flirted with and complimented, it was completely new territory. She had to admit though, “I’m glad I’m doing this with you.”

Sanji hummed deeply, “Me too, baby, me too.” Then he sighed and said, “I hate to do this, but I should go—I’m just getting to my restaurant.”

“That’s fine,” she reassured.

“Okay, well I guess I’ll talk to you later. Whenever I’m free I’ll shoot you a text.”

“Sounds good, I look forward to it.”

“Alright, baby—hope you have a nice day, bye.”

“You too, bye.”

She was just about to hang up, before she heard him say, “Oh, and Zora? I love you.”

Before she had a chance to reply, he’d already hung up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> Thank you for reading another chapter! Hope you enjoyed, please leave me a comment and let me know!
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	12. Mutual Friends

Sanji hadn’t been expecting this. Not at all.

As it turns out, his staff watches Ivankov’s show and now they want him to fill them in on all the details. It’s not like they didn’t know about Zora already, he’s been mentioning there was a woman he was interested in for the past few weeks, but none of them had been told much more than that.

“Come on, boss! You gotta tell us something!” Ace, one of his waiters, was probably the worst offender. “The last we’ve heard this chick wasn’t even into you! Then we see you go on Ivankov’s show and tell the whole world you’re dating someone!”

“I’m a little offended you haven’t even told us her name,” Thatch, his sous chef, was always one for dramatics, “You _always_ tell us about the women you take home.”

Marco, his bartender, was even in on the conversation, “Thatch is right, yoi. You don’t usually withhold information like this.”

Sanji groaned in annoyance, he hadn’t expected them to be so invested in his romantic affairs, even though he knew they were right, he did usually tell them everything. He tried his best to explain the situation, “Guys, I haven’t said anything because there wasn’t anything to say. We just talked a few times at the club, then this Friday she and I ended up walking around the city. One thing led to another and we—”

“You banged!” Ace shouted, then burst into laughter, “Man you really are predictable!”

He glared in Ace’s direction, which got him to shut up. Sanji shook his head and came clean, “We actually haven’t had sex yet.”

The three of them stared at him in shock, but the first one to say anything was Marco, “That’s not like you.”

Sanji sighed loudly and pulled out a cigarette, “I’m not interested in a one-night stand with her.” He lit the end of his cigarette with his lighter, inhaled the smoke, then blew it out, “I’m in love with her.”

“Well is she in love with you?” Thatch asked skeptically, “I don’t mean to be a drag, but she might just be with you for the attention.”

He scoffed, “She’s not.”

“How do you know, man?” Ace shook his head and reminded him, “It wouldn’t be the first time some chick’s come onto you for your money and fame.”

“She’s not like that!” He shouted, too worked up over the idea to control his temper. Sanji took a few more puffs from his cigarette before saying more calmly, “She doesn’t give a shit about any of that stuff.”

Marco was the first one to say, “Well, congrats yoi. I hope this one works out.”

Sanji gave him a small smile, “Thanks, Marco.”

“Soooo,” Thatch had on his most devious smile, “Tell us more about her. We still don’t even know what her name is or anything about her!”

He sighed, feeling defeated and outnumbered as Marco and Ace eagerly nodded their heads. “Okay, okay, geez…” Sanji put out his cigarette on the ashtray on his desk, “Her name’s Zora, she’s a police officer—”

“Holy shit!” Ace shouted, interrupting him mid-sentence to say, “Luffy’s friends with her!”

Sanji rolled his eyes, “They’re both cops, plus Luffy is friends with everyone.”

Ace shook his head, “No, she’s Luffy’s partner! I’ve fucking met her—she’s got green hair and a bunch of scars on her body!”

The description piqued Marco’s interest, “Wait, you mean the chick who’s always getting lost?”

Ace nodded his head and grinned, “Yeah!”

Thatch pouted his lips and crossed his arms, “No fair! I still don’t know who she is!”

Suddenly Ace was pulling out his cell phone and explained, “Zora has no online presence whatsoever, but I know Luffy has posted some pictures with her…”

When Ace showed his phone to Thatch the man whistled, “Damn!” He was fiddling with the phone, then turned the screen to Sanji, “Is this her?”

Sanji looked at Ace’s phone screen, it was zoomed-in on a picture of Zora smirking at the camera. Her hair was a little shorter than it is now, but she still looked just as beautiful. He nodded his head absentmindedly, “Yeah, that’s her.”

Thatch turned the phone back in his direction and shook his head, “You always land the hottest chicks.”

“Hey, quit checking out my girlfriend,” he scolded.

Ace laughed, “Okay, now seriously, are you sure that she’s actually into you? Because I’ve met Zora and she doesn’t seem interested in sex at all.”

Sanji rolled his eyes and told him, “Yes, I’m sure. We hung out last night after my interview and…did stuff.”

Marco raised his eyebrow, “Are you blushing, yoi?”

He shot the blond man a glare, “Shut _up,_ Marco.”

Thatch roared with laughter, “Oh my god! He is!”

Sanji tried to cover his cheeks with his hands, but it was no use. He threw his hands into the air and shouted, “Okay, fine! I’m blushing! Are you guys happy?!”

Ace began clapping his hands together, “There you have it, gentlemen! Sanji Black is blushing over a girl!”

“And we thought this day would never come,” Thatch clutched his hands to his chest, “Oh, what a day this is turning out to be!”

“I hate all of you,” Sanji told them seriously, “You’re lucky I don’t fire you guys.”

“Aw come on, boss! You know you love us!” Ace gave him that smile he could never say no to.

Marco tried to ease the tension by saying, “To be fair, Zora is quite the catch, I’m not at all surprised she caught your attention.”

“Are there any more pictures of her? Maybe one where she’s in a bikini?” Thatch asked, hopeful.

Sanji kicked the man in the shins, “What did I say about checking out my girlfriend?”

Thatch hopped up and down on the leg Sanji didn’t just kick, “I’m sorry! She’s just really fucking hot!”

He rolled his eyes, “I know she’s hot, but she’s a lot more than someone pretty to look at.”

Ace raised his eyebrows, “Holy shit. She really _has_ changed you.”

Sanji tried to suppress his groan, “Can you guys just let it be? We’ve got a busy fucking day ahead of us, so the last thing I want is this to keep getting brought up.”

The three men exchanged glances with one another before Marco spoke for all three, “Sure thing, yoi.”

When the guys left him alone in his office, Sanji sat down at his desk and groaned, “Fuck.” He could not believe Ace and Marco knew Zora. It was even more surprising that Luffy, Ace’s younger brother, was her partner. Here he was thinking he was actually doing a good job of getting to know her, only to find out there was much more to learn.

He felt his phone vibrate and pulled it out of his pocket. It was a text from Zora, so Sanji opened the message.

_Thought you might like to see your woman in uniform ;)_

A photo of Zora in her police uniform was attached, and _goddamnit_ she looked fucking hot. Her hat was on, her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, showing off her earrings, and she had a sexy smile across her lips. Using her pointer finger, she held up a pair of silver handcuffs. The navy-blue shirt was buttoned up most of the way, only the top two were undone, and he could read ‘Roronoa’ on the name tag. 

Sanji was grateful the guys had left him alone, because he really didn’t want them to see this. He quickly sent her a text back, then put his phone in the top drawer of his desk, so it wouldn’t distract him for the rest of the day. However, he knew it would be easier said than done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> Thank you so much for reading! Hope you are all enjoying the story so far! I will be starting to add more characters to the story, next up will be Luffy!  
> Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	13. Baker's Dozen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to Dragon_Unicorn99 and amberaza for your lovely comments on the last two chapters! My apologies for not updating sooner, I didn't have the chance to write on Mother's Day. To make up for it, I tried to make this chapter longer than usual.  
> Hope you all enjoy!

Zora was trying to relax in the passenger seat of their squad car while her partner, Luffy, was loudly eating donuts. They had stopped because he said he was hungry, and when he came out of the bakery, he had a box of them. She didn’t understand his infatuation with the sugary dessert and told him, “If you keep eating all those donuts, you’re gonna get fat.”

“Shishishi!” Luffy grinned with his mouth full, swallowed loudly, then chipperly said, “That’d be funny!”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head with a smile, “You’re fucking crazy.”

Luffy wiped the powdered sugar from his mouth and pointed out, “You’re in a good mood.”

“Yeah, so what?” She asked, still smiling.

Her partner looked at her quizzically, “You’re smiling, you hardly ever smile. Something must’ve made you happy.”

“Something? Or someone?” She supplied with a mischievous smirk.

Luffy gasped, “Did you talk to that guy you like?”

Zora grinned, “Yeah, I did.”

“And?! What happened, Zora? You have to tell me! We’re partners! You can’t keep secrets from me!”

She laughed at his familiar antics, “I’m not trying to keep it a secret, Luffy, relax.”

He visibly relaxed before saying, “Okay, so tell me what happened!”

“Well, you know how I’ve been seeing him at the Thousand Sunny?” Luffy nodded his head, so Zora continued, “We were talking there on Friday night, and it was going really well, so I invited him on a walk to show him that spot I like in Central Park.”

“Did you get lost?” Luffy accusingly asked, then reminded her, “You know you end up getting lost every time you go on a walk.”

She groaned, then denied, “No, I did not get lost. If anything, we took a few detours.”

“Okay, so then what happened?” Luffy was being surprisingly patient to hear her story.

Zora smiled at the memory and told him, “We were sitting on the bench, talking, and he told me that he loved me, so I kissed him.”

“Woaaah!” Luffy’s eyes were blown open wide, “Are you serious?! That’s so awesome!”

She laughed, “It’s really not that big of a deal, Luffy.”

“Sure, it is! That was Zora’s first kiss! First kisses are a big deal! I remember when I had my first kiss with Torao,” Luffy chuckled and made his huge dopey smile, “It was really great! His face turned so red! Shishishi!”

Zora smiled back, “Yeah, sounds like Torao.”

“Well, what happened next?” Luffy eagerly asked, “Did you tell him you love him?”

“No!” Zora shouted at him then sighed, “I don’t know if that’s how I feel about Sanji.”

“Sanji? What’s Sanji got to do with this?” Luffy tilted his head in confusion.

She rolled her eyes, “Sanji Black, he’s the guy I like.”

Poor Luffy, still looked confused as he picked his nose and said, “But Sanji is Ace’s boss—and you never want to come with me when I visit, so you two have never met.”

Now Zora was confused, “What? Are you saying that the restaurant Ace works at is—”

“Sanji owns it!” Luffy told her with a smile.

Zora took a deep breath and rubbed the bridge of her nose, “So you’re telling me that Ace’s boss—the one who talks about every woman he sleeps with—is the same guy I’m dating?”

Luffy raised his eyebrows and cheerfully asked, “You and Sanji are dating?!”

She facepalmed, “Goddamnit Luffy! Are you even listening to what I’m saying?!”

“Of course, I am!” He pouted his lips and crossed his arms, “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you know Sanji! Have you been going to his restaurant without me?”

“No, Luffy, I haven’t.” She hit the back of her head on the passenger seat’s headrest, “I didn’t realize you knew him, otherwise I might’ve asked you to tell me more about him.”

Luffy drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, “Well, I still can—what do you want to know?”

Zora turned to look at her partner and smiled when she saw the sincere look upon his face, “Do you think he’s a nice guy?”

“Sanji?” She nodded her head and Luffy’s smile expanded, “His food is _sooo_ good! I wish that Torao could cook like Sanji can—he says that it’s because he went to school to be a doctor, not a chef—but I don’t understand why he needed to go to school when he’s already so smart.”

She shook her head, “Luffy, the reason Torao is so smart is _because_ he went to school.”

He pursed his lips and tapped a finger to his chin, “I don’t know, I’m pretty sure Torao has always been smart.”

Zora knew there was no point in arguing, Luffy’s logic might not make sense to most people, but it would always make sense to him. She simply decided to let it slide and asked, “So, besides his cooking, what do you think of Sanji?”

“Well,” he shoved an entire donut into his mouth as he pondered her question. Zora knew she shouldn’t care what other people thought of Sanji—she liked him, and that was all that should matter—but Luffy was always such a good judge of character and she valued his opinion. After he swallowed his donut, Luffy wiped his mouth with his arm and said, “He’s always acting weird around girls, which I don’t really get.”

“That’s because you’re gay, Luffy,” she helpfully reminded him.

“Oh yeah! Shishishi!” He then turned serious and smacked his fist into his other hand, “I think he’s a good guy though, he always makes sure I get enough food to eat! And one time I saw him beat a guy up who was a real jerk!”

She smiled at that, “Sanji’s beaten people up?”

“Shishishi! Yeah! He’s got super strong legs—he doesn’t fight with his hands since he’s a cook—his kicks hurt a lot!”

“Huh,” Zora never knew that about him. She remembered thinking his legs were quite muscular, but she didn’t expect him to fight with them. If Zora had to guess, she assumed he liked running or something prissy like that—not that he actually would fight people.

“Does that mean you were the person he was talking about on Ivankov’s show last night?”

Luffy’s question drew her out of her thoughts, “You watched it?”

He nodded his head, “I always watch Ivankov’s show! Plus, Ace wanted to watch it since Sanji was going to be on. We were really surprised when he started talking about you. Ace was screaming at Sanji on the tv, shishishi! He was so mad Sanji didn’t tell them about you!”

“Wait, I thought he always talked about the girls he’s with…?”

Luffy simply shrugged and said, “I dunno, Ace just kept yelling that Sanji was a bastard for not telling him he had a girlfriend.”

Zora thought about what Luffy had said. She always thought Ace’s boss was some gross scumbag who would kiss and tell. It was a little hard to imagine the imaginary boss in her head to be the same man she was now dating. Sure, Sanji was a playboy, but he was kind and sweet to her and showed her respect—very different from the man she envisioned when Ace talked about his boss.

“Sanji hasn’t had a girlfriend in a long time, though,” Luffy suddenly said.

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

He rolled his eyes at her as if she was acting stupid, “After the last one, he said he was never going to date again—that it wasn’t worth it for him to spend so much time on someone, just for them to break his heart and leave.”

She was almost feeling sorry she asked. Zora never considered that Sanji had dated other women before. The one-night stands she knew about, although she never considered why. But if he’d been hurt in previous relationships, it made sense why he didn’t have them.

However, it also made Zora wonder why Sanji would want to date her. He wouldn’t put in all this time and effort if he didn’t think it was worth it. She didn’t think he was only interested in sleeping with her—at least not anymore. The only thing that made sense was that he really _did_ love her and meant it when he said she was special.

Even when he wasn’t around, Sanji was able to make her blush. Zora felt her heartbeat quicken and turned back to Luffy, who had now finished the rest of his donuts, and asked, “Will you help me take a picture? I want to send one to Sanji.”

He swallowed what was left in his mouth and laughed, “Shishishi! Sure!”

Zora handed him her phone and posed for a photo with her handcuffs. After Luffy snapped a few, she took a look at them and sent her favorite to her boyfriend with the caption, ‘Thought you might like to see your woman in uniform’ and added a winky face. Before she could change her mind, she pressed send.

Only a minute went by before her phone chimed with a new text message. When she opened the message from Sanji she felt herself blush even further.

“What’d he say?! What’d he say?!” Luffy didn’t wait for her to answer and simply took her phone and gasped before reading what he’d sent, “’Maybe you can use those handcuffs on me later. I was naughty and told my staff about you.’ Holy shit! He’s just like Torao—he likes it when I use my handcuffs on him when he’s naughty, too!”

Zora grabbed her phone away from Luffy before he could do something terrible, like send Sanji a reply. “I did _not_ need to know about your sex-life with your boyfriend,” she honestly didn’t want to have that kind of image in her head.

“Shishishi! Why not? It’s a lot of fun!”

She closed her eyes in frustration and took a deep breath, “If I ever want to know something, I’ll ask. Otherwise, keep it to yourself.”

“Aww, you’re no fun…” he grumbled under his breath.

Zora just shook her head, “Whatever, I don’t even care.” She typed up a reply to Sanji, and after rereading it, she hit send.

_It depends on what you told them and how… Specific you were._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! It was seriously a lot of fun to write Luffy, I'm curious what you all think! Let me know in a comment how you liked it!
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal
> 
> P.S. Happy belated Mother's Day to any moms reading this <3


	14. Friday Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to Angel1622, amberaza, and Dragon_Unicorn99 for commenting on last chapter! I'm so happy you all enjoyed it! I'm sorry to say this chapter is actually quite short, but it is setting things up for next time, hope you enjoy it anyway <3

Over the next few days, Zora carried on with business as usual, but when Friday night rolled around, she was unsure what to do.

For the past few weeks she had been going out to the Thousand Sunny, hoping that Sanji would end up being there so they could talk and get to know each other better. But now that they were dating, Zora could talk to him whenever she wanted and didn’t need to go out to the club.

Right now, it was just past six o’clock. She was already off from work and Zora would usually leave to go to the club around eight, which meant she had a couple hours to kill before even thinking about leaving. However, since Zora hadn’t heard from Sanji since the morning, she was waiting to talk to him before making any plans for the night.

Neither of them had much time to see each other throughout the week, but whenever there was a moment to spare, they tried to talk on the phone or text. Since it was Zora’s first relationship, she was still getting used to having someone that wanted to talk to her, but it was slowly growing on her. In fact, she didn’t mind the short little messages she’d get or the sweet voicemails Sanji would leave for her when she wasn’t able to answer her phone. It wasn’t uncommon for other people to do those things, but when Sanji did it, well, it felt special.

When she heard her phone begin to ring, she already knew who it would be and picked it up as fast as she could, “Hello?”

“Hey baby, how was your day?”

Zora felt herself smile from the sound of his voice and sighed, “It’s better now that I get to talk to you.”

She could hear him flicking a lighter to life as he smugly asked, “Did you miss me?”

She rolled her eyes and pouted her lips, “No…”

Sanji deeply chuckled, “I missed you, haven’t been able to stop thinking about tonight. Do you know what you want to do?”

Zora sighed loudly, “I dunno, we’ve been meeting up at the Thousand Sunny for a few weeks, but I’d almost rather stay in and watch a movie or something.”

“Well,” he exhaled deeply, “Do you want me to come over again? I’d have to run to my place and change, but I could be there in like an hour.”

“Yeah, okay,” she smiled and asked hopeful, “Would you want to sleep over?”

There was a slight pause on his end before Sanji said, “If you want me to.”

She rolled her eyes, “I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t want you to, Sanji.”

He sighed loudly, “Well, I don’t want you to feel pressured or anything. I’m still trying to get used to the idea that you’re actually interested in me.”

“Oh my god, seriously?” Zora shook her head and explained, “I wasn’t _not_ interested in you…just afraid you weren’t actually interested in me.”

“And I’ve already told you that you’re special, Zora.” Sanji sighed, “I really care about you.”

Zora smiled and felt herself beginning to blush, “I know that now… I just didn’t a few weeks ago.”

“Okay, good,” it sounded like he was putting out his cigarette as he said, “I’m leaving the restaurant to go to my apartment now. I’ll bring a toothbrush and some pajamas with when I come over, but if you change your mind and don’t want me to stay, I’ll just leave them there for next time.”

“I doubt I’ll change my mind,” she reassured and then said, “I haven’t seen you since Monday and I don’t think a couple hours will be enough time to fill my Sanji cravings.”

“Sanji cravings?” He questioned her in a sexy, low voice, “Is that code for you being horny?”

Zora gasped, “Sanji!”

He burst into laughter on the other end of the phone call, Zora decided that she could listen to him laugh all night if it wasn’t for the burning pit in her stomach that craved his touch. Eventually, he settled down and told her, “I was kidding!”

Her cheeks were burning hot, she was far too embarrassed to tell him that it was true, that she _was_ horny. Instead she settled with saying, “Whatever, just get here as soon as you can.”

“I will, baby,” he reassured her, “Believe it or not, I have a craving for you as well.”

“You’re such a pervert,” she teased him with a smile on her face.

Sanji hummed deeply, “Yeah, I am. But I’m _your_ pervert.”

She chuckled at him and said, “Maybe I’ll have to use my handcuffs on you, pervert.”

He inhaled a sharp breath of air, then groaned, “Fuck baby, don’t joke about something like that.”

Zora grinned and asked, “Who’s joking? I was serious.”

“Goddamnit…” He groaned a second time, louder and more frustratedly, “I gotta stop talking to you before you drive me crazy. I’ll see you in a bit, okay?”

She stopped herself from laughing at his expense and said, “Yeah, okay, I’ll see you soon.”

“I love you, baby,” he told her with so much adoration, it was practically seeping through the phone, then he hung up.

Zora looked down at her phone and sighed, “I think I love you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> Thank you for reading another chapter of this story! I hope it was enjoyable, even though it was short and not a whole lot happened. I promise that will change next chapter.  
> On a side note, I initially had a few chapters written in advance and was able to upload everything so steadily because I'd just make some final tweaks and be able to upload. Now I'm caught up with what I'm currently writing, so it takes a little more time for me to get a new chapter uploaded. I will continue trying to update every day, but I'm mostly just writing this to let you all know it's a work in progress and sometimes my progress is slow, but I'm not abandoning this story as long as you guys want to read more <3  
> Thank you all for being so kind and understanding. 
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	15. Just a Towel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to guardivn, Dragon_Unicorn99, and amberaza for commenting on the last chapter! Thank you for your continued support. As always, I hope you enjoy this next chapter, things are gonna get steamy <3

It was the second time Sanji was taking the elevator up to Zora’s apartment. He’d already been to her place, but he felt even more nervous than he did the first time. This time he made sure not to be overdressed and was wearing a pair of dark jeans and an old sweatshirt from his college days. The outfit made him feel more relaxed and comfortable, but the overnight bag in his hand was what actually made him on edge.

She’d invited him to spend the night, which could only mean one thing. In Sanji’s experience, sleeping over meant having sex, and having sex was always his end goal. Only this time it was Zora, and Zora was different. It had been a long time since he had a relationship that was anything more than sex. A very long time.

When the elevator doors opened, he began walking towards Zora’s apartment. His heat was pounding in his chest, seeming to grow louder with every step he took. Sanji was on autopilot as he lifted his fist and knocked on her door. He checked his wristwatch and saw it was seven-twenty. A moment passed and just as he was about to knock again, the deadbolt unlocked, and the door opened to reveal Zora in nothing but a pale blue towel.

“Sorry! I was in the shower—come in!” As she held the door open for him, Sanji could clearly see her long green hair was still dripping wet and she had yet to properly dry her tan skin.

Not wanting to be rude, he stepped into her apartment, set down his bag, and began removing his shoes as Zora closed and locked the door behind him. He told her with sincerity, “I’m sorry for interrupting your shower, you can finish it if you want.”

When he stood back up, Zora was standing right next to him with a shy smile. She was nibbling on her lower lip when she shrugged, “It’s no big deal.” Then she met his gaze and asked, “Would you want to join me?”

His breath caught in his throat. Sanji felt his heart skip a beat. He was almost positive all his brain functions were being used to pump blood into his dick.

Zora’s eyes grew wide and she shouted in horror, “Oh my god! Hang on!” She disappeared from sight for just a moment before returning and shoving a wet towel into his face, “Here, this should stop the bleeding.”

Sanji took over on holding the cloth to his face. When he removed it, he saw there was a small bloodstain on the fabric, then pressed it back under his nose. He closed his eyes and tried to remember the last time he’d gotten a bloody nose from a girl… It was high school, watching the cheerleaders practicing from underneath the bleachers.

He was so out of it that he didn’t notice Zora leading him into the bathroom. It wasn’t until he was sitting on the toilet cover with Zora kneeling in front of him that his brain started to function.

“Sanji? Are you okay?”

She sounded so concerned, he needed to reassure her that everything was fine. Sanji removed the cloth again to discover there weren’t any new blood stains and placed it on the counter, “Yeah, I’m fine. You just surprised me.”

Zora smiled the tiniest bit, “You surprised _me.”_

He laughed gently, “You made a really funny face.”

She playfully punched him in the arm, “Hey! At least I’m not the one who gets spontaneous nose bleeds!”

“It wasn’t spontaneous! I only got it because I started thinking about how sexy it would be to take a shower with you, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to control myself around you once I see you naked!” As soon as he’d said it, Sanji slapped his hands over his mouth, but it was already too late.

Zora had heard every word and gave him a sultry look before saying, “Maybe I don’t want you to control yourself.” She turned away from him, stepped into the shower, and closed the glass door. A moment later, her towel was thrown over the top and the water was turned on.

Sanji ran his hands down his face in frustration. He glanced up at the shower and could see the outline of Zora’s body behind the wet glass. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath; if what Zora said was true, she must feel ready for the next step in their relationship, and who was he to deny her anything?

He stood from the toilet seat and pulled his sweatshirt and t-shirt off in one go. His jeans and briefs were the next to go, quickly followed by his socks. Once he was naked, he opened the shower door and stepped inside.

Zora’s back was to him, but she turned her head to look over her shoulder and smiled, “Glad to see you got the message, Curly.”

For a moment, all Sanji did was stare at her and watch as the hot water cascaded down her body. He had a magnificent view of her backside, which was absolutely flawless and without so much as a scratch across her entire back. Sanji gulped as he made eye-contact and reached forward, “Zora, I—”

“Wait.” She cut him off and immediately, Sanji began to grow anxious. “I should warn you that you might not like what you see.”

Sanji was confused by what she meant, at least, he _was_ until she turned around to face him.

He’d known Zora had scars, he’s seen them on her arms, but he didn’t know about this one. Across her entire torso was a diagonal scar that practically cut her in half. It was thick and gnarly, looked like it had been sewn shut multiple times before it fully healed. Part of him wanted to ask what had happened for her to end up with such a scar, but he had other things on his mind.

He returned his gaze to her face, saw it was filled with worry, and quickly remedied the situation. Sanji closed the gap between their bodies and smashed his lips against her mouth. The only thing he cared about was showing Zora how much she meant to him, scars and all.

As the water fell from above, Sanji began to kiss every inch of Zora’s flesh. He kissed along her jaw, down her throat, and across her clavicle. His fingertips traced her scar from the top of her collarbone down to her hip, then back again. He stared into her emerald eyes and without saying a word, he was able to express how much love he held for her.

Zora wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his lips down to her own for a searing hot kiss. He let himself fall into her rhythm and hungrily ate up the soft noises that escaped into his mouth. However, Sanji was creating the perfect recipe for disaster in the form of an erection that was hungry for pussy.

He forced himself away from her and panted, “Bed. I’m not…gonna fuck you…in the shower…our first time.”

Zora’s eyes were dark with lust as he nodded her head. She spun around and turned off the water before pushing them out of the shower.

She grabbed her towel and quickly began drying off her arms and legs. Before he had to ask, she tossed a second towel at him and Sanji decided to follow her lead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> I first would like to apologize for leaving this chapter on a cliffhanger. It just seemed to be a good place to end it before it got to be too long. Irregardless, I hope it was fun to read and I'm sure you can all guess what's going to happen in the next chapter ;)  
> Please continue leaving me your comments, they bring smiles to my face and joy to my otherwise boring life. (Seriously, all I do right now is sleep, eat, watch Netflix, and write when my roommates are asleep).  
> Hope you are all staying safe <3
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	16. First Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to Dragon_Unicorn and Anonymous BTSARMY for commenting on the last chapter! I'm happy to hear no one is upset from the cliffhanger last chapter. To make it up to everyone, here is some smut, enjoy! <3

The next thing Sanji knew, they were in Zora’s bedroom, tangled in each other on top of the bed. Sanji couldn’t stop showering her body with kisses as his hands roamed across her scarred flesh, memorizing what it felt like under his fingertips. It had been so long since he’s been with a woman, but this was going to be Zora’s first time, he wanted to make it enjoyable.

“Zora?” He asked, breathlessly between kisses. She hummed in response, so he continued to ask, “Do you have condoms?”

She nodded her head and moaned when he began sucking on one of her nipples, “I got some earlier!”

Sanji smiled around her breast before popping it out of his mouth and asking, “Where?”

Zora took a deep breath and gestured with her head, “In the drawer there.”

He climbed off her and opened the drawer of the nightstand beside her bed. Sanji ripped one off the end and then a second one—just in case.

After the condoms were in his possession, Sanji turned back to his girlfriend on the bed and asked, “You’re sure you want to do this?”

Zora sat up on the mattress, her long green hair was still damp and stuck to her skin. Her green eyes were much clearer than before as she nodded her head and said, “I’m sure.”

Sanji smiled and crawled closer, “You’re completely in-charge here, so tell me if you don’t like something and I’ll stop.”

She quickly nodded her head, “I know, I trust you.”

With those words, his heart swelled with adoration. Sanji leaned forward and gave her a kiss. When she opened her mouth, Sanji pushed his tongue inside and held her cheek in his hand. He wanted everything to be perfect and pulled the pillows at the top of the bed behind Zora’s back before pressing her against them.

He once again began kissing down her body. Starting under her ear, Sanji kissed along her throat, then flicked his tongue over her hard nipple. When she started to arch her back, he moved to the other side and played with that one until she moaned, _“Sanji~”_

A low growl formed deep in his throat, but Sanji refused to act quickly, despite his own urges. He continued leaving kisses down her torso, across her scar, until he reached her hip. Sanji repositioned himself so he was comfortably situated between her legs, then glanced up at her face.

Zora was blushing a deep pink that stood out, even across her tanned skin. She spread her legs apart further, silently asking him to continue.

Sanji turned his attention to the main attraction between her thighs, already glistening wet. Her curly green hairs were a bigger turn-on than he ever would’ve imagined. Who knew he liked a girl with a bush? He couldn’t help himself and ran his fingers through the coarse hairs before spreading apart her wet folds.

He’d never been with a virgin before, they weren’t usually the type of woman who was interested in a one-night stand. But Zora was different, she was special, and Sanji was determined to make this a pleasurable experience for her. The only problem was that popping someone’s cherry wasn’t exactly pain-free.

As he looked at the tiny little hole he would have to stick his larger-than-average dick into, Sanji began to voice his concerns, “Baby, your pussy is so fucking tiny—I don’t know how I’m gonna get my dick to fit.”

Zora whined desperately, “Can’t you just put it in?”

He shook his head, then stopped and said, “Well, yeah, but I don’t want to hurt you. It’ll be easier if I finger you first.”

“Okay, then finger me,” she told him breathlessly.

Sanji sighed, “Okay, just try to relax.” With his left hand, he spread apart her folds, then with his right index finger, he began to rub circles around her virgin hole.

Immediately, Zora threw her head back and started moaning softly, “That feels, nice…”

He smirked, and now feeling more confident, he wiggled the first digit into her warm, wet pussy.

With his whole index finger inside her, Zora squeezed her walls around him and groaned as she leaked more of her fluids. Sanji slowly pumped his finger in and out, in and out, until he thought she was starting to loosen up, then he added a second finger.

Zora groaned and bucked her hips, Sanji began scissoring his fingers and watched in awe as Zora’s hole stretched around them. He kissed the inside of her thigh before plunging forward and giving her pussy a long, hard lick.

 _“Aaahhh!”_ Her legs stiffened up momentarily as she got used to the feeling. However, Zora continued moaning as Sanji kept using his tongue on her clit.

He used it as a distraction while he continued stretching her open. Sanji pushed a third finger into her hole and Zora’s whole body jerked from the intrusion. He kept his fingers still and focused his attention on her clit, using his tongue on the small bundle of nerves.

Above him, Zora was squirming, writhing in ecstasy as she tried closing her legs, only to squish his head with her thighs. Honestly, all it did was further egg him on, because Sanji was not one to back down from a challenge and right now he needed to make her fall apart.

When he started moving his fingers, Zora stopped holding her breath and began to whine. Her legs were beginning to shake, Sanji knew she was close. He thrust his fingers out then back in, drawing out a loud moan from deep within.

Sanji started ruthlessly flicking his tongue over her clit as he started shoving his fingers faster and deeper inside of her leaking hole. He didn’t stop or slow down, not even when Zora’s hands landed on his head and began pulling on his hair.

Zora bucked her hips up when he sucked on her clit particularly hard. A needy, desperate sound escaped her throat as she reached her tipping point, cuming on his fingers and face in the process. Sanji took his time, dragging out her orgasm for as long as possible. It wasn’t until her fingers relaxed against his skull, and Zora’s breathing evened-out that Sanji lifted his face from between her legs.

~

The lower half of Sanji’s face was covered in her juices and glistened in the light of her bedroom. Zora’s entire body was singing with pleasure from the orgasm she’d just experienced. She was beginning to understand why her girl friends were always raving about sex—although she doubted she’d like it this much if it were someone other than Sanji.

She stared at his mouth as he licked his lips, then lifted her gaze to his clear blue eye, “Kiss me.”

Zora tried not to whine from the loss of his fingers inside her as he crawled on top of her and leaned down for a kiss. When their lips met, Zora could taste herself in his mouth and moaned into the kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her chest.

As their tongues became reacquainted, Zora desperately tried and failed to move their bodies closer together. She hooked one of her legs over his back and grinded her hips up to meet his, but it wasn’t enough.

When Sanji broke their kiss and dropped his head beside her shoulder, she greedily sucked in a breath. He was kissing the side of her neck, driving her absolutely crazy, when she desperately whined, _“Sanji~ Please~ I can’t wait any longer…”_

Zora vaguely noticed his hand grabbing one of the condoms he’d placed next to them on the mattress. She watched closely as he ripped open the foil packaging, then pinched the tip of the latex as he rolled it down the length of his throbbing erection.

Sanji seated himself between her thighs and hooked her right leg over his shoulder. He rubbed his sheathed cock against her core, eliciting a moan, before making eye-contact. Zora knew he was making sure this was okay with her, and she appreciated it very much, but she was only human.

“I swear to god, Sanji, if you don’t start to fuck me soon, I’m going to do it myself.”

Instead of getting straight to business like she wanted, Sanji leaned down and gave her a soft kiss. When he pulled away, he whispered in her ear, “I’m not going to fuck you, Zora.” She was just about to scream at him in protest, but then he looked her in the eye and said, “We’ll be making love.”

Zora wanted to roll her eyes at him, wanted to tell him he was being cheesy and lame, but the next thing she knew, Sanji had pushed his dick all the way inside her.

Her mouth fell open, but all that came out was a low, throaty moan. Zora closed her eyes and squeezed the pillow underneath her head with her hands. It was so much to take in, she could feel Sanji’s body pressed flush against hers as he filled her to the brim. This was the feeling she had been waiting for, the feeling she’d been craving.

He began to slowly rock his hips and Zora unwillingly let out a soft whine. Sanji started kissing her cheeks and softly caressing her sides as he thrust himself in and out of her.

Zora arched her body against his and tried to move her hips to meet his thrusts. She wrapped her left leg around his waist and pushed him deeper inside. Their bodies were rubbing against each other in the most delicious ways, Zora had already cum once, but she could tell a second orgasm was well on its way.

The way Sanji was rolling his hips, meeting her thrusts, was driving her fucking crazy. Zora stopped paying attention to the sounds she was making and focused solely on the way Sanji was making her feel. It was better than any runner’s high, better than anything she’d ever experienced, and it was all because of him.

She reached up to push the hair out of his face and stared into his blue eyes, “I love you, Sanji.”

Something in his eyes changed before they closed and Sanji pressed their foreheads together. They tried to kiss, but they were both breathing so heavily all they managed to do was pant into each other’s open mouth.

Zora felt Sanji’s fingers brush against her clit and just like that, she had reached the finish line and came. His name was ripped from her throat as he pumped himself into her once, twice, then stilled against her body, grunting against her shoulder.

After a moment, Sanji pulled out of her and rolled to the side to remove the used condom from his softening erection. She watched as he carefully tied off the end, then got up and tossed the condom and the wrapper into the garbage in her bedroom.

If she was being honest, the view was quite nice. Sanji had a really great body, he might look tall and skinny, but he was toned with muscle. His arms weren’t huge, but it was obvious to Zora they were strong. It was also quite easy to tell he spent a lot of time working on his core, if his six-pack was anything to go by. However, the real crowning jewel were his legs; just like she suspected, they were thick with hard muscle and Zora was already beginning to find out just how much strength was underneath his pale skin.

When he turned back around and started walking back to the bed, Zora was expecting him to lay back down with her. Instead he sat down on the edge and asked in a quiet voice, “Did you mean what you said?”

She tried to think of what he could be talking about, then remembered that she told him how she felt and asked, “That I love you?”

He wordlessly glanced back at her over his shoulder and nodded his head.

Zora sat up from the pillows behind her and winced slightly from a slight pain between her legs. Once she was upright, she kneeled behind where Sanji was seated and wrapped her arms around his torso. She kissed his shoulder before resting her chin on it, then softly said, “Of course I meant it. Why else would I have done this with you?”

His hands held onto her arms as Sanji turned to face her with a smile, “I don’t know.”

She shyly smiled back at him and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before repeating herself, “I love you.”

Sanji’s smile grew wider as he brushed her hair from her face and tucked it behind her left ear, “I love you, too.”

Zora leaned her head into the palm of his hand and closed her eyes with a sigh, “That was amazing, you know.”

He hummed, “Was it?”

“Mmmhm,” she opened her eyes and told him with sincerity, “I wouldn’t mind doing it again.”

Sanji chuckled at her and assured, “We will, just let me recharge. It’s been a while since I’ve done that, I need time to recover.”

She nuzzled her nose into the crook of his neck and inhaled his natural scent, “Okay.”

Zora unwrapped her arms around him and winced when she turned her body. Sanji noticed and pointed out, “Looks like you’re sore anyway, should we pick out a movie to watch or are you hungry—I could make us something to eat.”

The mention of food made her stomach grumble, Zora turned away with a slight blush and said, “Food sounds great.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> Hope this chapter didn't disappoint! I always love writing this filthy stuff, but sometimes I worry that it might be too filthy. Whatever, I know that someone's gonna like it.  
> If you did like this, please leave me a comment and let me know!
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	17. First Taste

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to RekiZen, amberaza, Dragon_Unicorn99, Anonymous BTSARMY, and Jade for your comments on the last chapter! It warms my heart to read your comments, I appreciate you all so much.  
> As always, I hope you all enjoy this one too <3

After their bedroom activity, Zora got dressed in a black sports bra and a comfy pair of sweatpants before joining Sanji in the kitchen.

He was already wearing the clothes he came with, but his green and gold sweatshirt was now tossed over the back of a dining chair. Zora had no reason to stop herself from admiring the fit of his jeans over his long legs or the broadness of his shoulders under his black t-shirt. She watched as he went through her kitchen cabinets and refrigerator, looking for ingredients, occasionally pulling out the things he’d be using.

She had to admit that it was hypnotizing, watching him move around her kitchen with flawless ease, even though he’d never cooked in it before. It was obvious he knew exactly what he was doing as he cut and chopped the produce, the way he effortlessly moved the knife. Although she knew this was what he did for a living, she couldn’t help but notice he was exceptional at his craft.

It wasn’t until he’d put a pan of vegetables in the oven and a cover over the skillet on the stove, that Sanji turned his attention to Zora. As he washed his hands in the kitchen sink, he glanced over his shoulder with a smile and said, “Everything needs to cook for ten minutes before getting flipped.”

“Uh, okay. Should I set a timer?” She asked, unsure.

Sanji dried his hands with the towel hung on the dishwasher’s handlebar and shook his head, “That’s not really necessary, I’ll keep an eye on the clock.”

Zora nodded her head, “Okay.”

He walked around the breakfast bar to where she was sitting with a sexy grin. When he was beside her, he stopped and stared at her face for a moment before asking, “Can I kiss you?”

His question surprised her; she wasn’t sure why he felt like he needed to ask if it was okay, but she couldn’t be upset by it. Zora smiled and nodded her head before Sanji leaned down to plant a firm kiss over her mouth.

It was over too quickly and Sanji pulled away with a pleased smile upon his face, “I am so damn lucky.”

She giggled at him, returned the smile, and teased, “Lucky? Why’s that?”

His smile became softer, his blue eyes were gentle as he held her gaze and brushed a strand of her hair from her face. Sanji’s fingers ran across her earrings and made them jingle against each other before cupping the side of her face in his hand. He was no longer smiling, instead the line between his lips was flat until he answered seriously, “I get to be with you.”

Zora felt more exposed in that moment than she ever felt back in her bedroom. It was like Sanji was staring into her soul. She tried to play it off with a laugh, “It’s not that big a deal.”

Sanji just shook his head, “Not to you maybe, but to me it is.”

She stared back into his one visible blue eye and a shiver ran down her spine. Refusing to look away, Zora stood her ground as she questioned him, “Why?”

With his hand still on her cheek, Sanji simply said, “Because you’re you.”

Zora’s gaze fell and she pulled her lower lip between her teeth. She didn’t know how to act in this situation, because she’s never been in it before. Sure, Sanji has hit on her before and given her compliments, but that was before he really knew her. Now he has kissed nearly every part of her body and made her reach the peak of ecstasy. He has seen her at her most vulnerable and in return made her body sing in ways she never even thought possible. His words and actions held so much more meaning now that they came after sharing herself with him.

“Hey, don’t cry baby,” he brought his other hand to her face and used his thumbs to wipe away the tears she didn’t realize were falling.

She blinked a few times before looking back up at him to say, “I love you.”

His expression changed from frustrated and worried to confused, “Then why are you crying?”

Zora swallowed the lump in her throat and shrugged her shoulders, “Because I’m happy to be with you.”

Sanji’s features softened and he released his breath. He let go of her face and pulled her in for a hug. As he pressed his face into the crook of her neck, he whispered beside her ear, “Me too.”

She couldn’t say how long it was until they stopped hugging each other, with Zora sitting on a barstool and Sanji standing in front of her. They just didn’t want to let go, at least Zora didn’t want to. Sanji didn’t complain, even as she squeezed his torso closer to her with her arms, but he was doing the same.

When they did break apart, Sanji gave her a warm smile before walking back around the breakfast bar and into the kitchen. He took the lid off the skillet and turned over the chicken breasts to cook on the other side. After taking the pan out of the oven and flipping the potatoes, he added the green beans that were on the cutting board before returning it to the oven.

He glanced at the microwave, then said, “Another ten minutes and we can eat.”

After he flipped over the chicken, he left the lid off and now the smell of cooked chicken was filling the kitchen. Zora took a deep breath and groaned, “It smells really good.”

Sanji smirked and cockily told her, “I know.”

She rolled her eyes as she got up from her stool and walked into the kitchen, asking, “Want something to drink? I’ve mostly just got whiskey, but I think I have a few bottles of other stuff.”

He hummed in amusement and said, “Unless you have a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc, I’ll just have water.”

Zora raised her eyebrow, “Are you seriously that much of a snob?”

“I don’t want something that doesn’t go with the meal I’ve prepared,” he told her as if it was obvious.

Instead of arguing with him, Zora shook her head and began looking through her alcohol cabinet. Since she had been going out the last several Friday nights to drink, she hadn’t been in the cabinet for a while. Just as she suspected, it was mostly different kinds of whiskey, with a few other bottles of various alcohols like gin, vodka, and rum. She didn’t usually drink wine, but way in the back of the cabinet there was a bottle hiding that she guessed must’ve been a gift from Nami. When she pulled it out and took a look at the label, she grinned to herself and turned to Sanji, holding it up, “Ha! Chardonnay! Are you happy?”

Sanji stared back at her in amusement with a grin of his own, “Wow, I can’t believe you actually have something good.”

Zora gasped in mock offence, “I have lots of good alcohol, you just can’t handle the real stuff, mister prissy wine snob.”

He barked with laughter before saying, “I can handle hard alcohol just fine; I just like the taste of wine more.”

She rolled her eyes and playfully teased, “Yeah, okay.”

Sanji narrowed his gaze and crossed his arms, “What do you mean, ‘yeah, okay’?”

Zora shook her head with a big smile, “That just sounds like an excuse to me.”

“Are you trying to trick me into getting shitfaced?”

Now it was her turn to laugh, “Ahh, so you _can’t_ handle the real stuff!”

Sanji groaned in defeat, “Well, _sorry_ I don’t order a triple whiskey at the bar like you do.”

Feeling content with her win, Zora grabbed one of her few wine glasses from a cupboard and dug out her corkscrew. “Don’t worry about it,” she told him with a sincere smile, “I can handle enough alcohol for the both of us.”

He had a faint blush across his pale cheeks but tried to hide it by grabbing a couple of plates from the cupboard above the dishwasher. Zora let him open the bottle of Chardonnay and pour himself a glass while she got herself a glass of whiskey, then brought them both to the table.

Zora went back to the kitchen to grab them silverware as Sanji took the vegetables out of the oven and began plating the chicken breasts. “Go sit down, I’ll bring it to the table,” he instructed.

The food smelled amazing and Zora was eager to taste it, certain that it would be better than anything she’d managed to cook for herself. When Sanji set down a plate in front of her, Zora admired how good it all looked before digging in.

“Mmmm,” she moaned after taking the first bite of chicken, “It’s really good!”

When she glanced up from her plate, Sanji was sitting across from her with a fond smile. His visible blue eye was shining with what Zora could only describe as pleasure as he said, “I’m glad you like it.”

Zora smiled back at him, then returned her attention to the food in front of her. She never had food this good before and didn’t want it to get cold or go to waste. Digging into the potatoes and green beans, she was even more impressed. How could something so simple end up tasting so damn amazing?

She felt like Luffy, with the way she was inhaling her food, but it was so fucking delicious she couldn’t bring herself to actually care. Sanji was definitely in the correct profession, after eating his food she was beginning to understand how he was able to gain fame. There was a part of her that felt incredibly lucky to be with someone who could make something as simple as chicken and some vegetables taste this good.

Being too busy eating the delicious food, they didn’t really talk much. They simply enjoyed each other’s company along with their food and drink. Zora was happy she had found the bottle of wine, because Sanji was already on his third glass by the time they finished eating.

She grabbed her empty plate and silverware and brought it to the kitchen sink to rinse off before putting in the dish washer.

A moment later, Sanji was at her side with his own dishes and followed suit. “I’ll wash the pan and skillet in the sink if you bring them over.”

Zora walked to the stove and gathered the dirty dishes, “Thank you for dinner, it really was delicious.”

He gave her a smile as he started scrubbing the pan with the sponge she kept by the sink, “It’s my pleasure.”

She took the pan from him once it was clean and dried it with a dish towel, “I can’t remember the last time someone’s cooked for me.”

“I’ll make you breakfast in the morning,” Sanji then paused his scrubbing on the skillet to say, “That is, presuming you still want me to sleep over.”

“Of course,” she reminded him, “I believe I was promised another round.”

Sanji grinned mischievously, “I would hate to go back on my word.”

The smile that crossed her lips was enormous. A few weeks ago, she was terrified of letting Sanji get close, afraid that he wasn’t really interested. Now, after getting to know each other, Zora wasn’t concerned about that. She knew Sanji loved her, she could see it in the way he looked at and treated her that he was serious, that he was more than interested. Zora might not have experience, but there was no doubt in her mind that what she’d found with Sanji was something special and worth having, something worth fighting for, and that was exactly what she was going to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> Apologies for not updating sooner, life got in the way and I wasn't able to write much this past week. I hope this chapter makes up for it a little bit.  
> I probably won't be uploading the next chapter for a few days, but I'll do my best to not keep everyone hanging.  
> Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts on the story thus far! I love hearing from my wonderful readers <3
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	18. So This is Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to Dragon_Unicorn99, amberaza, and AnonymousBTSARMY for their comments! Your words of encouragement are much appreciated and warm my heart! Thank you all so much for your continued support for this story <3  
> This chapter is gonna get steamy, prepare yourselves ;)

As Zora led him to her bedroom, Sanji realized something: he wasn’t used to this.

It wasn’t like he didn’t know what they were about to do—he knew they were going to have sex again—that wasn’t it. He’s had sex countless times with countless women, he was used to that. What he wasn’t used to was feeling this way about it.

Sure, having sex was great and Sanji always enjoyed himself, that’s why he continued his lifestyle for so long. He enjoyed the rush he got from flirting with and picking up different women. He liked making them happy, he liked showing a woman a good time, he liked the way it made him feel desired, even if it was just for one night.

When he first met Zora, he knew there was something special about her, something that made her unique. After she’d rejected him, he thought that was the reason, because she wasn’t interested in him, unlike so many other women before her. It confused him, not because he felt like he was irresistible to all women, but because even though he knew she wasn’t interested, he couldn’t stop thinking about her no matter how hard he tried.

At first, he found it annoying and cruel—that the one woman who didn’t want him he found more desirable than anyone else. He thought that maybe it was some kind of bad omen, some type of punishment for being lucky with so many others. So he tried to move on, but that second time he saw her, he forgot what he’d been trying to do and eagerly took a seat by her side.

It had been hard. He had been so used to it being easy, that he didn’t know how to act when it was hard. Sanji was so used to getting whoever he wanted without even trying that he never had to try anything different. Compliments and flirting had always worked for him, just not with Zora.

Nothing about Zora was easy. He was always messing up and then would need to wait an entire week before he had the chance to even see her again. During the week he couldn’t stop thinking, wondering what he had done wrong and how to fix it. Sanji didn’t care that it was difficult, because he’d always known that it would be worth it.

Now that he was here in her bedroom, seeing her smile at him like she was, he knew he’d been right. Sanji stepped forward with a smile of his own, “Zora.”

Her smile widened, “Yeah?”

He reached his hands up to hold her face and took a moment just to admire her features. The way her tan skin glowed in the moonlight that shone through her window, the softness of her smile, the vibrant color in her green eyes. He just had to tell her, “I know you don’t care about appearances, but you really are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

Zora’s cheeks warmed against the palms of his hands as she blushed and looked away, “You don’t need to butter me up with compliments, you know.”

The corner of his mouth twitched into a smirk, “Yeah, I know. But just because I don’t need to, doesn’t mean I don’t want to, doesn’t mean it isn’t true.”

She met his gaze again and placed her hand on top of his, “Sanji, I don’t really know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” he kissed the tip of her nose and grinned, “I just want you to know how much I care about you, how much you mean to me.”

Her eyes searched his for a moment, before she pulled him down to her lips for an intense kiss. Without saying a word, she conveyed to him that she knew, that she understood.

Sanji wasn’t used to this feeling of being in love and having the feeling returned. Sex had always been meaningless, just a way for him to enjoy himself and get some stress relief. Zora turned it into something special, something that made him feel fulfilled and wanted. She made Sanji want more. More than just one night, more than a few casual words exchanged, want more than he’s ever wanted before.

He broke away from her mouth, but continued to hold her close as he said, “I love you so much. I can’t imagine my life without you, Zora. You mean more to me than anything in the world. I never want to lose you, if I ever did, I know I’d never be the same, it would change me more than I already have.”

She buried her face into his neck and wrapped her arms around his waist, “I don’t wanna lose you either.”

Sanji sighed deeply into her hair and inhaled Zora’s unique scent, “I’m not going anywhere, baby.”

“Good,” she firmly told him while nuzzling against him.

He tightened his arms around her as he sighed, “I could stay like this forever.”

She murmured, “Me too,” then sighed, “But I also want you to fuck me.”

Sanji chuckled softly, “You’re a greedy little thing, aren’t ya?”

Zora tried to get out of his hold as she retaliated, “Hey, I am _not_ little.”

He tightened his grip and shook his head, “Well, you’re still smaller than me.”

“So what? I’m fucking tough!” She squirmed in his grip some more before going limp and grumbling, “Ugh! You’re such a jerk.”

Sanji bubbled with laughter, he couldn’t believe how much fun he was always having with Zora. He loved that he could be himself when he was with her, it was freeing.

When his laughter died down, Sanji kissed her head then picked her up bridal style. She looked up at him with her green eyes as he carried her to the bed. Zora stayed quiet when he gently set her down on its center and began removing his shirt. Once the fabric was over his head, he tossed it aside and started unbuttoning his jeans.

A seductive grin crossed her face and just like that, Zora followed his lead and began to remove her own clothes, starting with her sweatpants. Zora bit down on her lower lip as she took off her sports bra to reveal her perky breasts.

For a moment, they both just stared at each other, wearing nothing but their underwear. Sanji swallowed the lump in his throat before climbing onto the bed. He moved closer and closer until he was hovering above her body.

Neither of them said a word as they gazed into each other’s eyes, both waiting for the other to make the next move. Sanji took a shaky breath of air as he brushed a long strand of green hair from her face and let his fingers linger next to her cheek. He looked down at her lips, then back up to her eyes before leaning forward until their lips met for a kiss.

Zora wrapped her arms around his neck and her fingers combed through his hair, gently pulling on the long strands. She opened her mouth to his and Sanji responded by pushing his tongue inside, resulting in a low moan from Zora.

As they continued to kiss, Sanji let his hands wander down her body. He spent a few moments pinching and teasing her nipples, then moved down to grab onto her hips. Sanji sucked on her tongue when she started to invade his own mouth. His fingers played with the fabric of her underwear and began pulling them down her legs.

She broke away from their kiss, panting for air and moaning his name, _“Sanji~”_

He smiled as he kissed along her jaw and down her neck, “Yeah, baby?”

 _“Mmmm,”_ she lifted her hips off the mattress and Sanji pulled her underwear all the way off. Zora’s hands moved down the front of his chest and stopped once they reached the waistband of his boxers, “Take these off.”

Sanji pushed himself off her body and kneeled on either side of her, straddling her hips. He took a mental picture of the image of Zora naked beneath him, then began pulling down his boxers, revealing his erection. Once they were removed, Sanji grabbed the condom he hadn’t used earlier and ripped open the package to roll it over his length.

Zora lifted up her hips again and spread her legs eagerly, “Hurry up. I can’t wait any longer.”

He resisted the urge to tease her and instead did what she wanted. Sanji lined himself up at her entrance then leaned forward, pushing himself inside and groaning loudly at the sensation of her tight, wet heat.

 _“Aaaaahhh~”_ Zora sighed with pleasure and closed her eyes, _“Fuck.”_

Sanji stayed still for a moment with his head buried in the crook of her neck, trying to keep his cool and not lose control from the sweet feeling of being buried inside her. When he felt like he would be alright, he rolled his hips back and snapped them forward again.

Zora’s hands were gripping his biceps as he moved on top of her. She was making the sweetest noises as he thrust in and out of her tight pussy. When her hands moved to his shoulders, then down his back to grab his ass, she growled, “Harder, Sanji.”

His thrusts faltered, Sanji was surprised by her request, but he wasn’t about to disobey. His next thrust was harder and ripped a loud moan from Zora’s throat.

 _“Sanji!”_ She screamed his name and lifted her hips up in time with his thrusts. Her green eyes were hazy with lust and her mouth was hanging open in ecstasy.

The sight of her falling apart was driving him crazy, but he refused to close his eyes or look away. He moved his hand down to rub her clit, hoping it would be the extra push she needed to reach her orgasm.

 _“AAAAHHH!”_ Zora’s eyes were tightly closed as she screamed in pleasure. Sanji pulled out his dick but continued to stimulate her clit with his fingers. Her legs were shaking on either side of him as she rode out her orgasm.

He dipped his fingers into her cunt once her breath evened out and when he pulled them back out, they were dripping in her juices. Sanji brought his hand to his mouth and licked up her delicious fluids as she watched.

Zora’s gaze left his mouth and traveled down to his still erect member, “Did you…?”

Sanji shook his head, “Get on your hands and knees.”

She raised her eyebrow but followed his instructions without complaint. Once she had her ass in the air facing him, Sanji fondled her cheeks gently, then gave her a light spank, causing her to yelp.

He chuckled deeply and leaned over her body, resting his chest across her back to whisper into her ear, “Still want me to fuck you hard?”

Zora turned her head to look back at him and nodded her head, wordlessly.

Sanji grinned, “Alright baby, be ready to hold yourself up.”

Without any other warning, Sanji pushed himself back into her dripping cunt and made it his mission to show her just how hard he could fuck her. With the first thrust he caused her to rock forward and moan louder than ever before. He held onto her hips as he pumped himself in and out of her wet heat, showing no mercy.

He could feel Zora’s pussy clamping down around him as he continued pounding into her. She was making the most delicious sounds, both from her mouth and her cunt. It wasn’t long before he felt his own orgasm creeping up on him and groaned, _“Baby, I’m gonna cum!”_

 _“Do it! Fuck, Sanji! I can’t—”_ Her arms gave out and she slumped forward onto the mattress, leaving her ass in the air for Sanji to keep fucking.

After a couple more deep thrusts, he found his release and came hard with a groan. He pulled himself out and Zora collapsed beneath him. Sanji rolled over onto his back, panting, trying to catch his breath.

When he turned his head to look at Zora a minute later, he saw her eyes were closed and her mouth was hanging open. He reached up to brush her hair from her face and smiled when he realized she had fallen asleep.

Sanji chuckled to himself and shook his head. He sat up on the bed and removed the spent condom then disposed of it and the wrapper into the trash. He made his way into the bathroom to clean himself off, then returned to the bedroom with a wet washcloth to clean Zora with. As he wiped between her legs, she still didn’t wake up, so once he was finished, he moved her beneath the blankets and snuggled up behind her.

As he spooned his girlfriend, he thought about how far they’d come since they first met. Sanji still thought she was beautiful, and he always will, but now he had the pleasure of knowing her on a much deeper level. He wasn’t used to having a real relationship like this, but if it meant he got to spend the night beside her, he was not about to complain. He was going to do everything in his power to make sure this lasts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> Thank you all so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It was very fun for me to write ;)  
> Please leave a comment and let me know how you are liking this story, it is always a pleasure to hear from my readers.
> 
> On a side note I would just like comment on current events. I happen to live in Minnesota, not too far from where George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis. I just want everyone to know that I support the Black Lives Matter movement and have been trying to do my part in bringing awareness to the issue. Even though I am a white woman, I empathize with all the people of color in the U.S. who face discrimination due to their skin color. I see and hear you, I am here for you <3
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	19. Morning After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to hunterhazard, Dragon_Unicorn99, amberaza, and AnonymousBTSARMY for your comments last chapter! It is always so nice to read your kind words and encouragement.  
> I think this chapter ended up being one of the longest ones I've written for this story, but I didn't want to break it up into two.  
> Most of it is smut, you've been warned ;)

Zora stretched her arms and legs as she woke up. She felt well-rested but was quite surprised when she realized she had slept naked. As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she glanced around her bedroom and saw her clothes laying on the floor. When she climbed out of bed, Zora grabbed her baby blue silk robe off the hook on her door before sleepily walking to the bathroom.

Still groggy from sleep, it wasn’t until she was finished going to the bathroom and started brushing her teeth that she remembered the night before.

On her bathroom counter was what she presumed was Sanji’s overnight bag. Upon further inspection of the brown leather bag, Zora found his toothbrush and toothpaste along with some floss, an electric razor, some cologne, and deodorant. Her curiosity got the best of her as she decided to smell the cologne and deodorant, both smelled very good. She quickly finished brushing her teeth and made her way towards the kitchen.

Sanji was sitting at the breakfast bar drinking a cup of what she assumed was coffee and looking at his phone until he noticed her. “Good morning!” He gave her his best smile as he observed her outfit, “How’d you sleep?”

“Really well.” Zora was about to make her way to the coffee pot, but Sanji quickly got up from his seat and poured a cup for her instead.

He brought it to her with a grin, “Me too.”

Zora took a sip of her coffee and immediately started to feel more awake. She smiled at Sanji and asked, “Have you been awake long?”

He shook his head, “Not too long. I just made some coffee and was going to start on breakfast in a bit.”

She continued to drink her coffee, then told him, “I’m surprised I didn’t wake up with you staring at me like a creep.”

Sanji chuckled at her remark, “Oh, I considered it, believe me. I just didn’t know how long you’d sleep, and I needed some caffeine.”

“Yeah, me too. I feel like a zombie if I don’t have my morning coffee,” she told him truthfully.

He smirked, “That makes two of us.”

Zora stared down at the half-empty cup in her hands and bit her lip, “Last night was fun.”

When she mustered up the courage to look back up at him, Sanji had a slight blush across his cheeks, “Yeah. Yeah it was.”

She could feel herself starting to blush but tried her best to hide it by taking another drink of her coffee. Zora didn’t feel awkward, her reaction had more to do with the memory of their activities the previous night. It was the first time she’d ever been with a man and it had been very enjoyable. So much so that she’d like to do it again, preferably as soon as possible. She was a little embarrassed just how eager she was to continue that part of their relationship.

“Hey,” Sanji’s voice broke her out of her thoughts. He was staring at her with a concerned look upon his face, “Are you alright? Your face is all red.”

Zora could feel her cheeks heating up further from his observation. She nodded her head, “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little embarrassed.”

He furrowed his curly eyebrows, “About what?”

She set down her coffee mug and covered her face with her hands as she groaned in embarrassment, “Having sex.”

“Oh, Zora,” he told her soothingly, “You have nothing to be embarrassed for. I know last night was your first time, but you did great!”

She shook her head and removed her hands from her face, “No—that’s not it.”

Sanji was staring at her in confusion as he asked, “Then what’s wrong?”

Zora groaned in agony; she couldn’t believe what she was about to admit out loud. She kept her gaze on her lap as she told him, “I really, _really_ liked it—especially when you started to get rough. Fuck—it was so hot, Sanji. I never knew why people talk it up so much, but after last night I can see why. I’m just embarrassed for feeling this way and wanting to have sex again, especially so soon.”

When Sanji didn’t say anything right away, Zora turned her eyes up to look at him and was surprised to see his face was red. He met her gaze and stared at her for a few silent moments before finally saying, “Let me make us some breakfast first, okay?”

She opened her mouth to say something but decided against it and ended up nodding her head in confirmation. Zora watched as Sanji moved around her kitchen and pulled out a couple of frying pans, then a carton of eggs and a package of bacon from the fridge.

As he started cooking, Zora finished off her first cup of coffee and poured herself another. She felt a little nervous, unsure of what Sanji’s reaction had meant, but tried to distract herself by watching him cook. The problem with that was it reminded her how _good_ Sanji was with his hands. The way he moved was hypnotizing, Zora was certain that Sanji could make anything look sexy.

Luckily, it didn’t take him that long until he was plating their food and setting it down in front of Zora.

“Thank you,” she told him before digging into the scrambled eggs he’d made. Once again, Zora was blown away by the delicious taste of something she’d made herself countless times, but somehow tasted a million times better when Sanji made it. When she took a bite of the bacon he’d made, she discovered it was perfectly cooked, not burnt like she oftentimes ended up doing.

She didn’t notice Sanji had been watching and waiting for her reaction until he laughed after she moaned loudly. Zora turned to look at him, only slightly embarrassed by the sound she’d made, because she knew she’d made much worse noises the night before.

“It’s really good!” She happily told him with a smile.

He gave her his heartbreaking smile, the one that made her stomach feel strange, and said, “I’m glad you like it.”

“Of course, I do!” Zora grinned even further as she said, “I’m sure I’d like anything you make, honestly. You’re a really good cook.”

“Chef,” he corrected with a sly smirk.

“Whatever,” Zora rolled her eyes before bringing another forkful of egg to her mouth. She couldn’t help herself and moaned from the taste again.

Sanji began to eat his own breakfast and they finished eating in almost complete silence. The only sounds coming from the silverware against the ceramic plates and the occasional moan or groan from the delicious taste of the food he’d made. When they were finished, Zora took their plates to the sink to be washed later.

“So,” Sanji had snuck up behind Zora and was running his hands along the silky fabric of her robe as he seductively whispered in her ear, “You like it when I’m rough with you, eh?”

Zora inhaled a sharp breath of air as his fingers slipped beneath her robe to pinch her nipples. “Yes,” she arched her back and tilted her head to the side, giving him better access to her neck.

He leaned down and pressed his teeth into the base of her throat, just to tease. Sanji then spun her around, so she was facing him, he threaded his fingers through her hair and tugged so she was looking up at him. He studied her face for a moment before leaning down and capturing her lips for a deep and demanding kiss.

While they made out, Zora was too dazed to notice Sanji untying her robe until it fell from her shoulders. She dropped her arms to her sides so the fabric could pool at her feet and no longer be in the way of whatever Sanji had in mind. After he lifted her up to set her down on the edge of the counter, he broke away from her lips and latched his mouth onto her right nipple.

“Mmmm,” Zora threw her head back as she moaned. When she looked back down, she was graced with the sight of Sanji cupping her breast as his tongue played with the hardening nipple. “Sanji~” His name came out as a whiny breath and seemed to only further egg him on.

He looked up at her through his eyelashes as he furthered his decent until he was between her thighs, then commented, “You look good enough to eat.”

Zora could feel herself getting hot as a powerful wave of lust washed through her body. She leaned back on the counter, letting her arm support her weight as she further spread apart her legs. Sanji smirked up at her as he used his fingers to pull apart her folds before diving in with his tongue.

She quickly found herself whimpering at the sensations and grabbed the back of his head, only to pull his face closer to her crotch. Sanji moaned against her clit and tightened his grip on her hips while he continued eating her out. Zora knew she was making some obscene sounds herself, but whatever Sanji was doing to her felt so good, she didn’t know how else to express herself.

Then he managed to break the dam; Zora found herself drowning in pleasure, completely overcome with sensation as she reached her orgasm. The only word she remembered was Sanji’s name and she was using it to its full extent.

Her body turned to mush, Zora was slumped on her kitchen counter, ready to fall, but Sanji quickly picked her up into his arms and her robe from the floor. She rested her head on his shoulder as he carried her back to her bedroom. Zora’s heartbeat was just starting to calm down when he unceremoniously tossed her onto the mattress.

“Hey! What was that… For…” She couldn’t concentrate on her irritation, not when Sanji was looking at her like that—like he was going to eat her.

Sanji pulled his shirt over his head, then tossed it on the floor before yanking down his boxers and revealing his huge boner. When Zora met his gaze, Sanji smirked and said, “Get on your hands and knees.”

Zora gulped as she nodded her head and did what he wanted. She positioned herself on her hands and knees at the center of her bed. She watched over her shoulder as Sanji walked around the bed, making his way to her nightstand where he pulled out a condom. When he stood behind her, Zora closed her eyes and tried to steady her breathing while she listened to the sound of him ripping open the foil.

Then she felt Sanji’s hands on her hips, startling her as he pulled her body to the edge of the mattress. She glanced over her shoulder to see Sanji staring at her ass, grabbing her cheeks and pulling them apart. “Fuck, baby, you’ve got a great ass,” he told her in admiration. His visible blue eye flickered up to meet her gaze, “Everything about you is so fucking sexy.”

She closed her eyes and whimpered, Zora ached to be filled with Sanji. She could feel herself quivering at his words, the sound of his voice, everything he did.

One of his hands left her body, only to come crashing back with a hard spank on her bottom.

“Aaahhhh~” The gasp/moan escaped her throat, and before she could even realize what happened, he did it again, only harder, “AAAHHHH!”

Sanji hummed with delight as he rubbed the spot with his hand, “You said you liked it when I was rough. Do you like it when I spank you, too?”

 _“YES!”_ Zora was not only surprised by how quickly she answered him, but also by how whiny her voice sounded.

He chuckled deeply behind her, “Oh, baby~ I never expected you to be such a slut for me.”

Zora never thought she’d feel so turned on from being called such a thing, but for whatever reason, having Sanji call her a slut made her feel more alive than she’s ever felt. The most desperate sound she’s ever heard came from her as she pushed her ass further into his hands, wordlessly begging for him to continue whatever it was he wanted.

The next thing she knew, his dick was fully inside her, stretching her open and pounding into her harder than ever before. Zora pushed back, meeting his thrusts with her hips, desperate for a harder, deeper penetration.

Sanji gripped her hips even tighter as he growled behind her, _“Fuck, Zora!”_

Everything felt so intense and powerful. Every part where their bodies connected felt like they were on fire. Zora never felt so hot, so overwhelmed with burning passion. She didn’t care what she looked or acted like, the sounds she made or the way her mouth was hanging open like a panting dog; the only thing that she cared about in that moment was being overpowered by Sanji.

_“You’re so fucking tight! Fuck! Baby, you feel so good!”_

_“Sanji! Sanji, I’m gonna cum!”_

_“Me too! Fuck baby, cum with me!”_

Zora squeezed her eyes shut as her pussy clamped down around Sanji’s cock. She was moaning with delight as her second orgasm of the morning flooded her senses. She could vaguely tell that Sanji was also cuming from the way his hips stuttered and finally stilled.

He then pulled out and Zora let her body fall onto the mattress, spent and panting for air. A moment later, Sanji climbed onto the bed with her and wrapped her up in his arms.

He rubbed his nose against hers and smiled fondly, “Hey.”

The corners of her mouth curled upwards, “Hi.”

Sanji put his hand on her cheek and gently caressed it with his thumb, “I can’t believe I get to do this with you.”

She felt herself blush, but held his gaze as she asked, “Do you always say such sappy shit to the women you sleep with?”

He scoffed, but his smile held, “Not always.”

Zora playfully rolled her eyes and teased, “Yeah, I’m sure.”

Sanji shook his head which made their noses rub again. “You’re driving me crazy.”

“You already were,” she gave him a quick peck on the lips and smiled.

His expression softened and he asked, “I didn’t do anything you didn’t like, did I?”

She shook her head, then reassured him, “No, I liked it all.”

He instantly relaxed and sighed, “Good. If I ever do something you don’t like, you’ll tell me, right?”

Zora nodded, “Yeah, I will.”

Sanji smiled fondly, then tilted his head and gave her a deep kiss. When he pulled away, he told her with conviction, “I’d do anything for you.”

Even though it was cliché and sappy, Zora still found herself blushing from his statement. “I know,” she told him, because it was the truth. Zora knew that Sanji would do anything for her, she knew that what they felt for each other was real, that it was something special, something people searched their whole lives to find. Someone who accepted you, flaws and all, someone to confide in and would be there for a shoulder to lean on. She decided to tell him, “I’m really happy that I met you, I don’t know if I could’ve ever fallen in love with anyone else.”

The look in his eye was soft and gentle as he agreed, “There’s no way I could ever love another woman the way I love you.”

With no words to say, Zora did the only thing she could think of to express how he made her feel; she kissed him. Sanji might have a way with words, but Zora was a woman of action, so that’s exactly what she did. She kissed him like it was the first and last time she’d ever get the chance. She needed to make sure he knew just how much he meant to her. Because no matter how much she loved Sanji, no matter how much he loves her, she knew that their relationship wasn’t going to be easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> I feel like I definitely made this chapter more filthy than the others, still wasn't as intense as it gets, but I was a little embarrassed for Zora while writing it. Lol  
> Hopefully it does more to attract people than turn them away.  
> Anyway, if you liked it let me know in a comment! It's always a treat to hear from you all <3 Thanks for reading!
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	20. Safe Travels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to the wonderful AnonymousBTSARMY, Dragon_Unicorn99, and amberaza for your wonderful comments last chapter! You are all amazing! I love you and I value your opinions <3

Sanji had spent the entire weekend at Zora’s apartment, spending time with her, cooking for her, and making love almost constantly. They had used the entire package of twelve condoms Zora had gotten, but he offered to buy them next time and made a mental note to get a larger package, maybe one with more variety as well.

When he had left her apartment on Sunday night, neither of them wanted to say goodbye. They stood in the entryway of her place, kissing each other like their lives depended on it. Zora wanted him to stay another night, but he had to be up early the next day for a flight he still had to pack for. Once they reluctantly parted ways, Sanji rode the elevator down and hailed himself a taxi to take him back to his own apartment.

Even though he was sad to leave, Sanji knew this was the happiest he’s ever felt in his life. When he was growing up, he’s always wanted to be a famous chef, but more than anything he had wanted to find a wonderful woman to share his life with. Despite his reputation of being a playboy, he was a hopeless romantic, he had just given up on the idea of ever finding someone truly special. Now that he had Zora, he knew there were a lot of things that would change.

For example, once he arrived in LA the following day, he went straight to his hotel and sent a text to Zora that he had gotten there safely. Most of the time when he travelled for work, he would drop off his bags then go to the hotel bar or a local café to flirt with women and possibly find someone to kill his loneliness. He was actually feeling relieved that he wouldn’t need to do that this time.

He was in LA for the week to judge some cooking competition. Sanji would usually be excited for a change of scenery and a chance to meet new women, being in a different city and all, but he already missed his girlfriend. Instead of sitting in his room all alone, Sanji decided to go get lunch somewhere and settled with a small diner that was near his hotel.

Sanji was sitting at a small table looking over the menu when someone sat down across from him and struck up a conversation, “Hello, handsome~ You look like you could use some company.”

With a light sigh, Sanji glanced over the top of his menu to tell the woman, “Sorry, I’m not interested.”

She frowned at him and asked, “You don’t remember me, do you?”

He closed his eyes to resist the urge to roll them and set down his menu. Sanji opened them again and looked at the woman more closely, she had long green hair and a pretty face, just not the one he wanted to see. He calmly told her, “No, sorry.”

The woman sighed dramatically, “Well, I suppose that’s to be expected. I changed my hair since we were together.”

Sanji tried his best to keep his expression neutral and not show his irritation. He gave her a curt smile and said, “It looks nice.”

A huge smile spread across her face as she twirled a strand between her fingers and agreed, “It does, doesn’t it.” Then she leaned forward and pushed her breasts together, accentuating her cleavage, “I really enjoyed our time together, Sanji—the last time you were in town. When I saw you here, I just _had_ to come talk to you.”

For the life of him, Sanji could not remember this woman and decided to ask, “What’s your name again?”

She giggled at him before answering, “It’s Monet.”

Her name didn’t ring any bells, but that wasn’t really all that surprising to Sanji. He’s been with a lot of women and most of them didn’t leave lasting impressions. He gave her a small smile, “Monet—”

“Yes, Sanji?” She asked seductively.

He flat out told her, “I have a girlfriend.”

A moment passed in silence, then Monet raised her eyebrow and scoffed, “You’re kidding.”

“I’m not,” he told her firmly.

Monet leaned back in the chair she occupied and crossed her arms, “Well, I’m not leaving until I get what I want.”

Sanji couldn’t stop himself from staring at her in disbelief, “What?”

She dramatically rolled her eyes and laid it out clearly, “I want us to have sex again and I always get what I want.”

His jaw dropped in shock. Sanji shook his head and explained to her as calmly as possible, “Look, I’m not interested. I’m happily in a relationship. I just came here to get some lunch.”

Monet wasn’t deterred in the slightest and batted her thick, fake lashes at him, “Come on, Sanji~ We had fun last time. Besides, I know you’re lying about having a girlfriend, last time you told me that you don’t date. Why don’t we go back to my place and relieve some tension?”

“I’m not lying,” he snapped. His voice was tense, as was the rest of his body. Sanji didn’t even care that he was being rude, at this point he was fed up with this woman and told her, “I don’t remember you at all. Do you have any idea how many women I’ve been with? Too many, and now I’ve finally found someone I care about and you’re asking me to cheat on her—I’m not going to. Please leave me alone.”

Sanji picked up the menu and was going to continue looking at it when Monet snatched it away from him and said, “I can’t believe how you’re acting right now. I’m just trying to have a nice conversation and you’re being very rude to me.”

He stared at her in disbelief, “You’re kidding, right?”

Monet pouted her Botox-filled lips and argued, “I have been perfectly civil. All I want is for you to spend some alone-time with me and you won’t even do that.”

Finally, Sanji just stood up from the table, “I’m leaving.”

He could get lunch somewhere else; not even food was worth sitting around and being harassed by that woman. All he wanted was to get something to eat, not be pressured into spending time with someone he didn’t want to.

Since he had changed time zones, he was four hours ahead of Zora, but he still dialed her number on his cell phone and listened to it ring. Sanji didn’t expect her to answer, he just wanted to hear her voice and was going to settle for hearing her voicemail message. So naturally, he was rather surprised when he heard her answer the phone, “Hello? Sanji?”

“Baby, fuck—hey,” he breathed as he began powerwalking down the sidewalk.

“Hey, is everything okay? You sound upset or something.”

Sanji sighed deeply, then glanced over his shoulder to make sure Monet hadn’t followed him out of the diner, “Yeah, well, I don’t know. I was just gonna get some lunch and this woman sat down at my table. Apparently, I’d slept with her the last time I was in LA and she wanted to again, and when I told her I had a girlfriend she didn’t believe me.”

There was a short pause before Zora asked, “So you’re alright? Nothing happened?”

“Nothing happened,” he reassured her, “I just told her off—I don’t know if I’ve ever been that rude to a woman before.”

Zora started to laugh, it was such a welcome, magical sound, especially after the horrible conversation he’d just had with Monet. “Shit—sorry, I shouldn’t be laughing right now.” Zora tried to compose herself, then added, “I just can’t imagine you being rude.”

A small chuckle left Sanji’s lips and he smiled, “Yeah, I told her I didn’t remember her at all.”

His girlfriend’s laughter increased ten-fold, “You did?! Oh my god, that’s hilarious! I would’ve loved to see her face!”

Sanji began to laugh with her, he knew calling Zora was a good idea, she always made him feel better. He happily told her, “God, I fucking love you.”

Her laughter trailed off and she sighed into the phone, “I love you too. Don’t forget about me while you’re gone.”

He smiled to himself and said, “I could never forget about you, baby.”

Zora sighed with contentment, “Good, ‘cause I was planning on doing something special for when you get back.”

“Oh? Something special?” He questioned with a smile, “Like a surprise?”

She chuckled again, “Yes, like a surprise.”

Sanji hummed deeply, “What do you have in mind?”

Zora scoffed and he swore he could _hear_ her rolling her eyes, “It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you, now would it?”

“Oh, come on, baby~” He tried to convince her to tell him by bribing her, “I’ll bring back a nice bottle of whiskey for you.”

“You better do that anyway,” she firmly told him, “It’s the least I deserve after not being able to see my boyfriend all week.”

Sanji smirked and teased, “It’s not the first time you’ve had to wait a week to see me.”

Zora sighed, “I guess,” but she sounded upset.

“Hey,” Sanji frowned at the tone of her voice and tried to console her by saying, “I’ll be back on Friday. The week is gonna fly by, I doubt you’ll even notice I’m not in the city.”

“Of course, I’ll notice,” Zora told him sadly, “I started to miss you as soon as you left last night.”

He sighed deeply and made his way back into his hotel lobby, “I miss you too, baby. But there’s nothing I can do. I have to be here in LA all week.”

“I know,” she told him sadly, “I just wish I could be with you, is all.”

It warmed his heart to know that Zora missed him so much, but he didn’t want her to be sad without him. Sanji rode the elevator up to his room, alone, and told her, “I do too, believe me. I wish I could open the door to my hotel room and see you laying on my bed wearing nothing but that sexy blue robe you like to wear in the morning.”

A deep chuckle left Zora, “You think my robe is sexy?”

 _“Yes,”_ he groaned and closed his eyes, “Fuck, baby you look so goddamn sexy in that thing.”

“You think I look sexy in everything,” she scolded him.

Sanji shook his head and laughed, “Yeah, so what? I can’t help it that you’re just sexy.”

Once again, Zora chuckled at him and teased, “Oh boy, what am I going to do with you?”

“I dunno, keep me forever?” He smiled to himself feeling clever, but when a moment passed with silence, Sanji asked, “Too much?”

He heard Zora let out a breath of air, then say, “No. No it wasn’t.” Sanji imagined her smile as she confessed to him, “I was sorta thinking the same thing.”

The elevator doors opened and Sanji stepped out into the empty hallway towards his room. He sighed deeply as he readjusted his phone so he could grab the key card from his pocket. Sanji frowned to himself as he told her, “I really miss you, baby.”

“I miss you too,” then she sighed and said, “But I unfortunately have to go—I just got to the precinct.”

Sure enough, Sanji could hear quite a bit of commotion in the background on her end of the call. He knew it was time for their conversation to end. As he used the key card on his door, he told her, “Alright, I love you baby, have a safe day.”

“Okay, I will, and I love you too!” She hung up right after that.

Sanji opened the door to his room, set the key card on top of the dresser as he walked inside, and looked at his phone.

The screen was lit up with a photo he’d taken over the weekend of himself and Zora. They were cuddling on the couch, Sanji had his arm over her shoulder and Zora was leaning against his as they both smiled for the picture. It had taken quite a bit of convincing on his part to get her to agree to it, but it had all been worth it. He missed her so much, so he was glad he had the picture to remind him it wasn’t just some dream, that it was slowly becoming his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> As always, thank you so much for reading! I officially am going to change the previous chapter names to befit them.   
> Do you have any suggestions or a request for something you'd like to see happen in this story? Let me know in a comment :D  
> Also! Should I write a chapter in Monet's point of view? Any thoughts on that?
> 
> Stay safe out there <3
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	21. Discussions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to SippyCup, Dragon_Unicorn99, and amberaza for your wonderful comments on the last chapter! Hope you enjoy this one, there is less drama, but some juicy conversation <3

“Alright, I love you baby, have a safe day.”

Without thinking about where or who she was around, Zora happily replied, “Okay, I will, and I love you too!”

It was only _after_ she’d ended the call that she remembered her surroundings. She hesitantly looked up from her phone, lit up with her new screensaver—a picture of herself and Sanji—and nearly everyone in her precinct was staring at her.

Normally, Zora would’ve shouted something at them, to keep their eyes off her, but she was simply too embarrassed by what she’d said that she quickly sat down at her desk without a word.

She was setting down her things, getting herself ready to do the paperwork on her desk when Luffy cleared his throat. Zora glanced up at him, sitting across from her, with her eyebrow raised in question, daring him to say anything. Luffy raised his own brow and asked smugly, “Was that who I think it was?”

Zora rolled her eyes but felt herself beginning to blush in embarrassment and hoped her tan skin would be enough to help her from being discovered. Apparently, it wasn’t.

“Shishishi! Zora, are you blushing?” Luffy snickered behind his hand, trying and failing to cover his amusement.

She growled in annoyance, “Shut _up,_ Luffy.”

Thankfully, he got the hint and stopped talking. Zora didn’t mind talking to Luffy about it, she just didn’t want to do it when they were in the office where anyone could overhear their conversation and Luffy understood that.

That’s why, hours later when the two left to get lunch, they talked while in the squad car.

As soon as the doors were closed, Luffy asked, “So, you guys did ‘it’ then?”

Zora turned to face him from the passenger seat, her mouth hanging open, but quickly grew into a shy and pleased smile.

Luffy’s face immediately lit up, “You did! Oh my god! Zora you gotta tell me what that guy is like in bed! I’ve been _dying_ to know!”

If it were one of her girl friends talking to her, Zora would’ve felt embarrassed. However, Zora has put up with far too many _extensive_ conversations with Luffy about his extremely active sex-life with his boyfriend, Law, that at this point she basically equates the topic as to one about the weather or what was done during their time off from work.

“It was really, _really_ awesome,” she stressed, then said nothing more.

Luffy blinked a few times, waiting for more, then narrowed his brown eyes and pouted his lips, “You gotta give me more than that.”

Zora gave him a smug look while smirking, until she couldn’t hold it in any longer and began to laugh.

“What’re you laughing for, Zora? Wait—were you just messing with me? Please tell me you’re fucking kidding and are really gonna tell me more? You are, aren’t you? Oh my god, Zora, you’re such a jerk!”

She roared with laughter by the time he was finished and laughing along with her. Once she calmed down, she nodded her head, “Yeah, I’m just fucking with you—of course, I’ll tell you more. You’re like a sex guru or some shit. If I’m gonna talk to anyone about this, it’d be you.”

He was no longer sulking and instead wore his signature brighter-than-the-sun grin and encouraged her, “Well, come on, tell me!”

Zora began to smile so wide herself that it touched her eyes. She started off by saying, “I understand now, why you talk about sex so much. I mean, it was fucking _incredible_. I have never felt so fucking fabulous as when Sanji made me cum.”

Luffy’s eyes were practically sparkling as he said, “I have never been so proud of you! I’m so happy to hear this from you, Zora! Keep telling me more!”

She rolled her eyes, but continued on with a smile, “Well, I did the thing where you walk around in just a towel.” Luffy nodded in excitement as she continued, “When he showed up to my place on Friday night, he knocked on the door, right? So, I ran to the bathroom, got naked as fast as I could, then hopped in the shower until all my hair was wet; got out of the shower, grabbed a towel, and ran to answer the door.” Zora laughed at herself, “I was wrapping the towel around myself when I looked through the peephole and saw he was about to start knocking again. So, I opened the door and fuck, Luffy—no one has ever looked at me like that before.”

His eyebrow was raised as he asked, “How did he look at you?”

Zora groaned in frustration, “Like he wanted to fuck my brains out!” She quickly waved her hands, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to shout. I mean, he literally got a bloody nose from staring at me, but It was just so…arousing? Such a turn on?”

“You like getting dominated, don’t you?” Luffy asked far too casually considering the question.

“Uh—”

“Ah-ha! I _knew_ it! Shishishi!” Luffy grinned proudly and asked, “Did Sanji spank you? Tie you up? Gag you? Use a vibrator? Anal beads? A bullet? Did you end up using your handcuffs? You could role play that you’re arresting him, but then he gets the upper hand on and uses the handcuffs against you.”

“Jesus, Luffy! Calm the hell down!” Once he stopped bouncing in his seat, Zora was slightly blushing when she admit to him, “He just spanked me a little.”

Luffy giggled chipperly, “I can’t believe it! If this is what you’re like when you get spanked, I can’t wait to see what you’re like after _really_ getting freaky.”

It took her a moment to catch on to what he meant, “Hey! How exactly am I acting right now?”

“Happy!” He told her with his signature grin, then turned the key in the ignition and drove them off to get lunch.

Zora kept thinking about his answer and began to wonder if she had actually been unhappy before she met Sanji. She didn’t have much of a social life, aside from her close girlfriends and Luffy plus whoever Luffy drags into her life. She liked her job for the most part, she liked her apartment that was filled with old furniture, she liked working out and meditation exercises. Her life was consistent and functioned like clockwork, there was never any variety.

After she met Sanji, her thoughts had been consumed with nothing else. She couldn’t help but wonder who he was with, what he was doing, even though he was the last kind of guy she ever thought she’d be interested in. But Zora had been kidding herself, Sanji was the only guy she’s been interested in. He was charming and handsome, had the greatest smile, he was sincere and honest. Being with him made her very happy, much happier than she’d been before they met.

“Hey Zora! What kind of sandwich you want?” Luffy asked and pulled her out of her thoughts.

“Grilled chicken.”

Luffy finished ordering their lunch and pulled into a space in the parking lot to eat. Once they were both happily eating their sandwiches, he asked, “Have you had his cooking yet?”

Zora grinned and nodded her head, “Yeah, I have. It’s really good.”

“I’m so jealous of you, Zora. I wish I was dating a chef so they could cook anything I want!”

“Dude, you’re dating a heart surgeon, he can literally afford to pay for any meal you could ever want.”

“Shishishi,” Luffy smiled, “I know, Torao is so nice.”

“Only to you,” she reminded him.

He ignored her and said, “Sanji is the best cook ever.”

Zora eyed Luffy suspiciously as she ate her grilled chicken sandwich. She couldn’t tell if he was trying to get a rise out of her or what, so she stayed quiet.

Suddenly Luffy jolted upright and asked worriedly, “OH NO! Does this mean you’re gonna get pregnant?!”

She scoffed at him, “WHAT? NO! _Of course not!_ We used condoms.”

“Oh, okay, cool!” He gave her a thumbs up and began driving them back to the precinct, already finished with his two sandwiches.

Meanwhile, Zora wasn’t even half-finished with her own sandwich and decided to hurry up and eat it before someone else did. Someone with a bottomless pit for a stomach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> Thank you so much for reading this story! There are over 2,000 hits and I am so happy for all your continued support!  
> Lol, is it just me or is anyone else interested in what goes on in Law and Luffy's relationship? Also, would it be weird if I wrote a chapter or two that aren't in Sanji or Zora's POV? Let me know your thoughts.  
> I hope to start adding more conflict and drama, but we will see how it goes. I haven't started the next chapter yet, so it will take a little bit of time before it comes out, but it will!   
> Please continue to give me your thoughts in a comment, I love hearing from you all <3
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	22. Trouble in Paradise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to AnonymousBTSARMY, SippyCup, and Dragon_Unicorn99 for commenting last chapter!  
> Thank you all so much for your feedback, I love you <3

As it turns out, the woman who had tried getting him to sleep with her, was a journalist and wrote a story about what “happened” between them. It was all bullshit, she claimed that Sanji pursued _her_ for sex and _she_ told _him_ no because he was supposed to have a girlfriend. There were even pictures associated with the article, showing Sanji getting upset and leaving the diner they’d been at.

Honestly, it shouldn’t have been a big deal, he was used to the media making him seem like a heartless bastard, but this was too much. Sanji had told Zora what happened right away, having no reason to lie to her, he just hoped that she would still believe him once she saw the article.

~

It was finally Friday, which not only meant it was the end of the work week, but it also meant Sanji would be back in the city.

Zora had stopped at the coffee shop Perona worked at on her way to the precinct to say hello and get a cup of the hot beverage. When her cousin saw her walk in, she had on a scowl.

“What’s the matter? Aren’t you happy to see me?” She laughed at her cousin, but quickly noticed something was off, “What is it?”

Perona sighed and handed over an open magazine, “Look at this, I’ll make your coffee.”

Zora looked at the page the magazine was opened to, an article titled, _“Trouble in Paradise?”_ She observed the photos of Sanji sitting at a table with some woman, he looked _pissed._ “What is this?” She asked her cousin curiously.

The pink-haired woman gave her a sad look, “Did you read it?” Zora shook her head and Perona told her, “Read it.”

She rolled her eyes and began scanning the article. It seemed to be talking about the incident Sanji mentioned to her earlier in the week. Where some woman was trying to get him to sleep with her and didn’t believe him when he said he had a girlfriend. “This isn’t right,” she pointed out to Perona, “Sanji said she was asking him to sleep with her, but this says it was the other way around.”

When she looked back up at Perona, she was handing over her coffee cup with a sad look, “I’m sorry, Zora.”

“For what? This article is wrong.” She took her coffee and handed back the magazine, uninterested.

Perona still was frowning at her and told her gently, “Why would she lie? Look at the pictures, it’s obvious he was freaking out.”

Zora shook her head, “Why would she lie? Because she’s a journalist who wants to sell a story! What do you think is going to be more interesting, some woman gets rejected, or Sanji Black tries to cheat?”

“Honestly, a woman getting rejected by Sanji Black.”

In her head, Zora knew she was right. The thought of Sanji lying to her left a bad taste in her mouth and a pit in her stomach. She knew the type of guy Sanji was, that he was a playboy, she just wanted to believe that he had changed.

Perona shook her head and sighed, “Let’s go out tonight, I’ll call the girls and we can get some drinks, help take your mind off it.”

She knew Sanji was going to be getting back tonight, Zora had been excited about it. “Okay,” she agreed, not because she wanted to, but because she needed to. If Zora didn’t make plans, she was going to be forced to see Sanji tonight, and after this she didn’t want to.

“Oh goody!” Perona smiled at her and clapped her hands, “I’m so excited!”

Zora wished she could say the same, wished she could say that it was going to be fun, but the only thing Zora was excited for was getting drunk.

~

It was already late when Sanji’s plane landed, and by the time he got his luggage and left the airport, it was dark outside.

The first thing he did when he got into his taxi was call Zora. He held his cell phone to his ear as the driver pulled out onto the street and listened to it ring. Sanji was so excited to see her, especially after only having a few phone calls throughout the week.

She didn’t pick up, and it went to voicemail. Instead of leaving her a message, he tried calling again, but when the second call stopped ringing and directed him to her voicemail, he got a bad feeling.

Sanji quickly sent her a text that said: _I’m back in the city, just leaving the airport. Do you want me to come over?_

He stared at his phone and nibbled on his lower lip, waiting for her to reply.

By the time they reached his apartment, Zora still hadn’t replied and Sanji was craving a cigarette like never before. He and his luggage rode up the elevator to his apartment, where he immediately went out to the balcony and lit a cigarette.

As he was smoking in peace, his phone buzzed with a new text message. Sanji pulled it out of his pocket and smiled at his screensaver. He opened the new message from Zora, but as soon as he read what it said, his whole world came crashing down.

_No. I don’t want to see you anymore._

Sanji sent her another message that said: _Why? What happened? Where are you?_

He could see the dots indicating she was typing something and held his breath until her reply showed up on the screen.

_Trouble in Paradise._

_Are you mad about that article? Zora, you know that’s not what happened! I called you afterwards and told you everything!_

_I don’t believe you._

His whole body was shaking, Sanji’s stomach churned and he was starting to sweat. He started calling Zora, hoping this time she would answer, but was sent to her voicemail, again. Sanji just hung up and started calling her again, and again, and again.

Sanji lost track of how many times he called her in a row, but eventually she did answer, slurring her words, “Whadda ya want?”

“Zora?” He wasn’t sure what he was more surprised about, the fact she answered or the way she sounded and asked with concern, “Baby, are you drunk?”

“’M mad at you!” She drunkenly shouted into the phone and Sanji could hear the voices of a couple other women and loud music in the background.

He sighed loudly and closed his eyes, “I know you are, baby. Please just tell me where you are, I’ll come get you.”

“He wants to come get me,” she told someone with her, then said, “Nami wants me t’ stay and keep dancing with ‘er.”

Sanji went out on a limb and asked, “Are you at Thousand Sunny?”

“Yeah! I’m dancing!”

Under his breath, Sanji whispered some curse words before telling her, “Okay, I’m coming. I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

~

Zora hung up the phone and Nami shouted over the music, “What’d he say?!”

She shrugged her shoulders and yelled back, “Said he’s coming here!”

Nami’s eyes grew wide and she stopped dancing, “What?!”

“Let’s get another drink!” Zora suggested, wanting to keep herself relaxed for when Sanji would get there.

~

When Sanji got to the club, he went inside and started searching the place for green hair. The first place his eyes went to was the spot she’d sit up at the bar, but she wasn’t there. He looked around at the tables and still couldn’t find her. Sanji remembered she said she’d been dancing, but he couldn’t see what was going on from where he was standing and made his way up to the second level.

From the balcony of the second floor, Sanji could see everything going on below. It was from up there that he spotted Zora on the dancefloor, holding a drink in her hand and dancing to the loud music. Sanji could tell she was more dressed up than when she usually went out, and fuck did she look good in the skin-tight dress she was wearing. He was so happy to see her that he wasted no time in getting back down the stairs.

Sanji pushed himself past all the people dancing around him until he was at Zora’s side. He gently grabbed her arm and yelled over the music, “Zora, come on, let’s go!”

She pulled her arm away from him and scowled, “No! I’m having fun dancing!”

He looked at the people around them, catching a few looks, but nothing serious. Sanji wanted to get out of here so they could talk, but she didn’t seem interested in anything other than the drink in her hand and the beat of the music. Zora had her back to him, so Sanji stepped closer to put his hands on her hips then started moving to the music to dance with her.

When she turned to look at him over her shoulder, her green eyes were dark and her breath smelled strongly of alcohol, “Why are you here?”

Sanji wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the top of her shoulder, “I missed you.”

“Tsk,” Zora rolled her eyes and pushed him away, “You lied to me! You said she wanted to have sex with you!”

“I didn’t lie! She did!” He shouted back, frustrated.

“Why would she lie?! Isn’t it a better story if the playboy Sanji Black _rejects_ a woman instead of wanting to sleep with her?!” Zora quickly finished her drink and pointed her finger at him, “I fucking _trusted_ you! I thought that you changed! You said you loved me! And for what?! To find out you were kidding from a fucking tabloid?!”

He could see the tears forming in her eyes and his throat began to constrict, not letting him say anything.

“Get away from me,” she pushed him away and made her way off the dance floor.

Sanji turned to follow her but was stopped by the people in the crowd. He scowled as he pushed past them and frantically searched for Zora. He ended up seeing her leaving the club and hurried over to the exit.

When he got outside, Zora was leaning against the building, crying.

All the air swooshed out of his lungs, all the blood drained from his face, both were replaced with shame and disgust in himself. The last thing he ever wanted to do was make her cry.

He stepped closer and quietly said, “Zora, I swear I didn’t lie to you.”

She looked up at him through wet lashes with her lower lip trembling and asked, “Why would she write that stuff about you?”

He shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know, probably to make me look bad. I’ve been thinking about it all damn day, hoping you wouldn’t react like this, but…” Sanji sighed deeply and concluded, “She probably did it for some kind of revenge, maybe because I didn’t remember her, maybe because she was jealous, I don’t know but it looks like it worked.”

Zora wiped at her cheeks and pointed out, “She’s a fucking bitch.”

Sanji bit his tongue, not wanting to condone calling a woman such a thing but also not wanting to disagree. Instead he asked, “Do you want to go somewhere we can talk?”

Her body deflated slightly but she nodded her head, “Yeah, okay, but not my place—it’s messy.”

He chuckled at that, because he honestly didn’t care, but offered, “We can go to my place then.”

“Okay,” Zora tried to stand up straight, but nearly fell over from being drunk.

Sanji grabbed her waist and put her arm over his shoulder to keep her standing, then hailed them a taxi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> Sorry this chapter took a while, next one won't take more than a couple more days for me to finish.  
> I wanted to start adding more drama to the story, hopefully this was a good starting place, we will see.  
> What do you all think? Did you like it? Let me know!
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	23. Afterglow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to Kazz45690, Dragon_Unicorn99, SippyCup, and amberaza for your awesome comments and feedback from the last chapter!  
> I didn't want to leave you all hanging, so here is the next chapter!
> 
> The chapter is based off Taylor Swift's song of the same title, check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HxbqAsppwU

Zora woke up with a pounding headache and when she tried to open her eyes, she was blinded by the sun peering in through the windows.

She groaned and covered her face with a pillow that was softer than silk. When she inhaled, there was the heavy scent of cigarettes and spices—it smelled like Sanji.

Then memories of the day before started returning; the stupid magazine article, going out to the Thousand Sunny with the girls, and drinking way too much for her own good. She could faintly recall talking to Sanji, yelling at him when he tried dancing with her, then running outside to cry.

She took a deep breath and inhaled more of his scent. Zora knew she wasn’t at her apartment, and assumed she was at Sanji’s, in his bed. Part of her wanted to be annoyed, she had been so angry at him, but now that she wasn’t drunk out of her mind, she knew there was no reason to be.

Zora knew that Sanji had been telling the truth, but her friends ended up being able to convince her differently. They reminded Zora of Sanji’s reputation, pointed out the journalist had no reason to write a false article, and made her doubt the man she loves. Now she felt like shit for reasons other than her hangover.

A moment later, she heard the door open and the smells of coffee and bacon entered the room. She could hear Sanji humming something as he moved around. When she peeked out from underneath the pillow covering her face, she groaned at the light.

“You’re awake,” he happily pointed out, then noticed, “It’s bright in here, hang on.”

There was some shuffling around, then the room became darker. Zora squinted her eyes open and saw that Sanji had drawn the curtains over the window. It was also the first time she really got a good look at where she was and immediately felt more awake, the realization that she was in his bedroom starting to set in.

She sat up on the huge bed and enjoyed the feeling of the soft sheets against her bare skin. When she looked down at herself, she noticed she was wearing what appeared to be one of Sanji’s t-shirts and asked, “Umm, what happened last night?”

He looked a little nervous as he asked, “What do you remember?”

Zora rubbed her temples and closed her eyes, “You came to the Thousand Sunny, I yelled at you, and then we left.”

Sanji nodded his head, then told her, “Well, you were really fucking drunk—I didn’t think you could get drunk, but fuck…” His voice trailed off and he looked at her smugly, “I thought _I_ was a bad drunk.”

She glared at him, then nervously asked, “What did I do?”

He smirked, “Nothing I haven’t already seen, although,” Sanji raised his curly eyebrow, “I didn’t know you could dance like that.”

Zora stared at him in confusion, then when Sanji started swaying his hips and pretended to swing something over his head, more memories came flooding back. “Oh my _god!”_ She covered her face with her hands and shouted, _“Please_ tell me I _didn’t_ do that stupid dance routine I learned with Perona in high school!”

Sanji started to laugh, “I don’t know when you learned it, but I’ll admit it was pretty sexy. If you weren’t so trashed it probably would’ve worked.”

She made a high-pitched whine and groaned, “Fuck me.”

“That’s what you were trying to get me to do,” he helpfully added.

Zora uncovered her face and glared at him, “Fuck _you!_ This is all your fault, you know!”

Her words made him wince, and he wasn’t the one hung over. Sanji frowned and turned away, “I know.”

“Ugh!” She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and groaned, “I didn’t mean it like that.”

Sanji shook his head, “You’re right, though. If that woman didn’t write that article, none of this would’ve happened, and she only wrote it because of me.”

“I know, but it’s not like you did anything wrong,” Zora told him with a sigh. “I knew that you told me what really happened, but I let myself be convinced that stupid article was real. This is why I never read those damn things in the first place—I know that they aren’t reliable.”

Instead of trying to talk about it more, Sanji filled her in, “I made coffee and breakfast, should I bring it in here to eat?”

Zora stretched her arms over her head and the t-shirt rose above her stomach, “Nah, I can get up.” She followed Sanji out of the bedroom, not bothering to put on any pants and wearing only her underwear and Sanji’s t-shirt.

When she looked around at his place, she realized it was much fancier than her own apartment. It had to be at least triple the cost of her own, but it was also much bigger and had more than just the one bedroom. Then they stepped into the kitchen and Zora was not only overwhelmed by the smell of delicious food and coffee, but by how large and spacious it was.

The countertops were white, and the cabinets were a dark gray color with silver-colored knobs and drawer handles. All the appliances were stainless steel, and everything was sparkling clean. It was the kind of kitchen that screamed ‘professional’ and ‘top-notch’, but Zora expected nothing less from a man who made his money cooking.

“Sit down at the table, I’ll bring over everything,” he casually instructed.

Zora was in no shape to argue and did as he said, taking a seat at the end of the large wooden table and patiently waited as Sanji brought over a mug of coffee and her plate of breakfast. “Thank you,” she said, then hungrily dove into her food.

As always, it tasted amazing and almost immediately Zora felt like her head wasn’t about to explode, like his food had healing properties. She groaned in appreciation at the food and before she knew it, she’d cleared her entire plate.

“The other day Luffy was saying he’s jealous that I’m dating a chef, now I get why.” She told him with a giggle and a pat on her belly.

Sanji smiled from over the rim of his coffee mug, “I’m glad you liked it.”

“I’m pretty sure you could make shit taste good.”

He gagged on his coffee and started to have a coughing fit. When he settled back down, he scowled at her, “I would never put something so disgusting on a plate!”

Zora laughed at his horrified expression, “Fuck, you should see your face right now!”

Sanji ended up shaking his head and rolling his eyes at her, but there was a faint trace of a smile on his lips as he continued to eat his own breakfast.

They sat together in silence; Zora finished her cup of coffee as Sanji cleared his plate. It wasn’t awkward between them, but Zora could tell there was something _off._

When Sanji stood up from the table and took their empty dishes to the sink, Zora decided it was time to address it, “So are you gonna tell me what else happened last night, or are we never gonna talk about it?”

She watched as his shoulders tensed and his back straightened, then heard him exhale loudly, “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know? It’s not that fucking hard a question to answer—it’s yes or no.”

Sanji hunched over the sink for a moment, then spun around to look at her, “No.”

Zora narrowed her gaze, “Why not?”

He groaned and ran his fingers through his blond hair, “Why does it matter? It’s not like anything happened.”

“If nothing happened, why can’t we talk about it?” She quipped back, irritated.

Sanji pursed his lips, then clicked his tongue, “Fine, you want to know—I’ll tell you. When we got here last night, I wanted to talk, but all you wanted to do was fuck. I kept telling you that you were drunk, that I didn’t want to take advantage of you, but that just made you get more upset. Then you started trying to seduce me with that sexy dance.” He shook his head and sighed, “I’m not gonna lie, I was really turned-on, but I knew you were only acting like that because you were drunk. I kept saying no until you passed out, then I brought you to my bed to sleep it off.”

Zora didn’t know what to say. She was embarrassed, she couldn’t believe she acted like that. There was a part of her that wanted to believe it wasn’t as bad as Sanji was making it sound, but she knew that he was trying to spare her feelings and actually watered it down. “Fuck, this is so humiliating,” she ended up laying her head on the table and covered it with her arms in an effort to shield herself from his watchful gaze.

A few moments later, she felt Sanji rubbing her back and reassuring her, “Don’t worry about it. I’ve seen much worse, believe me. It was just strange seeing you like that.”

She lifted her head up to shout, “Of course, it was strange! I gave you a fucking _lap dance,_ Sanji! I don’t know what came over me, I’m so sorry!”

Then Sanji was kneeling beside her chair, one of his hands was on her back, comforting her, while the other reached for her hand, “It’s okay, this is why I didn’t want to tell you—I figured you would be embarrassed—I didn’t want you to feel weird around me.”

“No, no,” she shook her head and squeezed his hand, “Thank you for telling me.”

Sanji gave her that smile that made her stomach flutter and kissed her head when he stood back up. “I need a cigarette, want to join me on the balcony?”

Zora nodded her head and followed the man through the apartment until they reached a sliding glass door that led to a small balcony with a great view of the city.

There was a small circular table with two chairs beside it. Sanji sat down in one of them and made himself comfortable before pulling Zora into his lap. He opened a pack of cigarettes, took one out, then placed it in his mouth before grabbing a lighter off the table. Once the end of the cigarette was cherry red, Sanji tossed the lighter back on the table and plucked the stick out of his mouth to exhale the smoke.

She leaned her body against Sanji’s as she watched the cloud disperse into the rest of the air and asked, “Do you really think my dance was sexy?”

Sanji chuckled out the next puffs of smoke before telling her, “Yeah.”

Zora smirked to herself, “That makes me feel a little better.”

“Honestly, it was really hard not to give in, especially when you started rubbing my dick and realized I was hard.” He took another drag from the cigarette before adding, “You were saying shit about how I was obviously into it and that I was being a prude.”

She groaned, “God, that is so embarrassing.”

He smirked at her and laughed, “The funny thing is that’s what I was planning to do last night. I was so happy to be back in the city so I could see you, but then you sent me that text that you didn’t want to see me anymore.” Sanji’s smile faded and his eyes grew dark, “I swear my heart stopped beating for a moment. I was really scared you were serious, that you were gonna break up with me or something. And I was angry because I hadn’t done anything wrong. I can’t help thinking that the next time something like this happens it’s going to fuck everything up.”

“Sanji—”

“No, just listen.” He took another drag from the cigarette and continued, “I know that things are gonna get worse before they get better. Eventually, people are going to find out we’re dating and the next article that gets written could be about you.”

This was something Zora already knew, but after the stupid false article from the day before, Zora was nervous to find out what kinds of things they might say about her. Would people think she was only with Sanji because of his fame and fortune, would they call her a gold digger or something equally as insulting. Or worse, they could see her with Luffy and think _they_ were an item—that could make things awkward at work or complicate Luffy’s relationship with his own boyfriend.

Sanji finished the rest of his cigarette, then put it out in an ashtray on the table, “I care about you too much to pretend like it’s not a big deal or that it’s not gonna become a problem for us. I don’t know when people are going to realize you’re my girlfriend, but when they do, I know things are going to change.” He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder, “I’m just afraid things are going to change too much for you to wanna stick around.”

Zora swallowed the lump in her throat, she didn’t realize he felt this way, and it honestly broke her heart. She wanted to tell him that wouldn’t happen, that she wasn’t going to leave, but Zora didn’t know what the future holds and the last thing she wanted to do was make a promise she couldn’t keep. Instead she hugged his arms around her stomach and said, “Yesterday was my fault, I should’ve trusted that you told me the truth. You haven’t given me a reason not to trust you, I was just upset because I thought you wanted someone else.” She sighed loudly and continued, “All I know is that I love you and I want to be with you. You make me happy and as long as that continues, I will be here.”

Sanji sighed in relief and told her, “I don’t want anyone else but you. I love you—you make me happier than I’ve ever been.” He nuzzled his face into her neck and admit, “That’s why I’m so afraid of losing you.”

She shifted in his lap so she was looking him in the eye, then leaned down to kiss him. Zora didn’t know the right words to say, so she tried to show him how she felt instead. She wanted Sanji to know that he made her happy as well, and that she was afraid of losing him too.

It wasn’t perfect, Zora knew they were far from it, but she was willing to keep trying as long as Sanji was. Judging by the enthusiasm he showed, he wasn’t going to stop any time soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> If you haven't already, you should really listen to the song Afterglow by Taylor Swift. It's one of my favorite songs from her newest album and it just worked so well for this situation in the story I decided to title this chapter after it. Her album "Lover" came out at the end of August 2019 and is almost a year old at this point, but I still listen to it religiously (along with her older albums) and her music continues to inspire me. So, here's the link again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HxbqAsppwU
> 
> I had most of this chapter written and after reading everyone's comments I wanted to quick finish it up to resolve things for you all. Your comments from last chapter were absolutely amazing, I loved that you were all picking up on the things this chapter was going to have, it makes me feel like I'm doing something right. It's really awesome how you guys will point things out about the story that I've tucked in, but it's even better when you notice things I never even realized about the characters myself.  
> I love hearing about the things my readers are enjoying so I can continue adding those things to the story. It makes me so happy when I check my inbox and I see new comments from you all, so thank you <3
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	24. Make Up Sex

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to my loyal Dragon_Unicorn99 and amberaza for leaving comments last chapter!   
> Thank you both for always stopping by and encouraging me to write more.   
> I seriously love you two <3
> 
> I'm not putting a warning for this chapter because honestly, read the title ;)

Last night Zora had been drunk from alcohol, but right now Sanji was getting drunk off her lips. The way she was kissing him was more intoxicating than moonshine and she tasted better than any fine wine. He was starting to feel dizzy, like he needed to breathe oxygen but all he wanted was more of her.

Sanji combed his fingers through her silky, green locks and gently pulled her away. He met her gaze panting for air but aching for more of whatever she was serving. There was only one thing on Sanji’s mind, and it involved removing the little clothes she had on.

Zora seemed to read his thoughts, because the next thing he knew, she was smirking and whispering in his ear, “I’m not drunk anymore~” She grabbed his hand as she got up from his lap, then started pulling him back inside his apartment.

Once the door was closed, Sanji turned to Zora with a smirk, “Do you have any idea how goddamn sexy you are?”

She bit her lip as she shook her head and looked down at the floor, then glanced up at him through her eyelashes, “Tell me.”

He closed his eyes and groaned, “Fuck, baby…” Sanji was going to die from sexual frustration caused by this woman, he was sure of it. “I had to jack myself off last night after you fell asleep otherwise I’d get blue balls.” He didn’t mention that he’d done it while he watched her sleep in his bed, he couldn’t help himself.

A noncommittal hum came from her throat, she tilted her head to the side and asked with faux disappointment, “So you get to have all the fun while I get nothing?”

Sanji leaned closer to her lips and shook his head, making their noses rub against each other, “I’ll give you whatever you want now that you’re sober.”

Zora wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close for a soft kiss, then whispered against his lips, “I just want you.”

He groaned into her mouth and slipped his tongue between her lips. They were both pulling the other closer, their hands were groping whatever parts they could touch, yanking at the fabric on their bodies until there was nothing between them but skin.

When Sanji pulled away from her, he immediately dropped down to his knees and began kissing her inner thigh. Zora’s fingers were gripping his hair as her legs began to shake around his head, “Sanji, I can’t—” She gasped loudly when he dipped his hand between her legs and pushed his finger into her tight heat.

He watched from down below as Zora closed her eyes and let her head roll back and her mouth open. Sanji’s gaze wandered down her face to her heaving chest, then to the patch of green hairs that assured him the color was natural. As he started pumping his finger in and out, more and more of her clear, slippery juices began to coat the rest of his hand. He gave her inner thigh a wet kiss then praised, “You’re so fucking wet for me, baby.”

She whimpered above him and pushed on his shoulder, “Sanji, I can’t stay on my feet.”

That comment made him smirk, he decided to push her limits and kept thrusting his finger into her wet heat as he pointed out, “Your legs are shaking pretty bad. Maybe you should lay down.”

Zora moaned loudly and clenched around him as she whined his name, “Sanji~”

Again, he was kissing the inside of her thigh, licking and sucking the quivering muscle, “Yeah, baby?”

She exhaled a puff of air as she closed her eyes tightly shut. Zora was still gripping his hair like it was the only thing keeping her on her feet. She opened her mouth and moaned lewdly, _“Fuck me~”_

Everything about Zora was screaming for Sanji to do exactly that. He wanted to drag her onto the floor and fuck her right in front of the balcony windows. However, there were important things he needed to consider before doing whatever the fuck he wanted.

Sanji reluctantly removed his hand from between her legs and stood up from the floor, lifting Zora over his shoulder in the process and giving her ass a light spank as he started walking towards the bedroom.

Zora yelped in surprise and shouted, “What was that for?!”

He grinned to himself and squeezed her round cheek with his hand, “I thought you liked it when I spank you?”

She wiggled her body, then huffed in resignation, “That’s not what I meant!”

Arriving in his bedroom, Sanji wasted no time in tossing Zora onto the bed. He gave her a smirk, seeing her red face, then found the package of condoms he kept in his dresser. When he made his way back over to her, he explained, “I need one of these if I’m gonna fuck you.”

“Oh,” Zora’s cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red and she looked away, “Okay.”

The whole thing just reminded him that Zora was still new to all of this. He sat down next to her, “Hey,” Sanji grabbed her chin and made her look at him, “You good?”

Those green eyes stared back at him with want and adoration, “Yeah. Yeah, I am.”

He gave her a smile, then gently kissed her lips. When Zora opened her mouth and tossed her arms around his neck, he deepened the kiss and pushed her down on the mattress. Sanji let his hands wander across her scarred flesh, lingering at her sensitive nipples to give them a few twists and pinches before moving on to caressing her hips. When he broke away from her mouth, they both were panting for air, but Zora was softly mewling from his touch.

Sanji grinned to himself as he dropped to the floor and got on his knees between Zora’s legs. She tried to sit up and see what he was doing, but before she’d moved around too much, Sanji grabbed her thighs and pulled her to the edge of the bed.

“What’re you—aaaaaaaaahhh~” She threw her head back, moaning as Sanji latched his mouth onto her clit.

She tasted so fucking good—better than any dessert. Sanji pulled his head back and pushed her thighs further apart, “God, you’re so wet, baby.” With his tongue hanging out of his mouth, Sanji leaned forward and licked everything that was presented to him.

Above him, Zora was moaning, and he could feel her legs shaking under his hands from where he held her thick thighs apart. He teased her clit with his tongue and watched as her scarred chest rose and fell with every labored breath she took.

Eventually, Sanji brought his right hand to her dripping cunt and pressed two of his long fingers inside. He curled them upwards and began stroking her G spot as he continued to stimulate her clit with his tongue. His goal was to make her cum like this, but he wasn’t actually expecting what ended up happening.

Zora began to squirm under his touch, and she was gasping his name, “Sanji! Sanji!” He kept up what he was doing with his fingers, but when he pulled his mouth away from her clit, she began to squirt.

Sanji was quickly showered with Zora’s ejaculate as it hit his face and chest, some of it landed in his mouth, but fuck he didn’t care. It was the hottest thing he’s ever seen.

Above him on the bed, Zora began to swear, “Fuck—Sanji, I’m so fucking sorry! I-I don’t know what happened!”

He chuckled softly and kissed the inside of her thigh, “Relax, baby. You just squirted.”

“I what?” She sat up on the bed to peer down at him with a horrified look upon her face.

Sanji licked at his lips and got a taste of her fluids, it was quite sweet, then got up off his knees and grabbed a towel from the attached bathroom.

When he came back into the room, he wiped off his chest and face before he used the towel to help Zora clean up. “You squirted—it’s similar to when I cum, because you shoot out ejaculate.”

He looked up at her face and saw that her eyes were wide with shock. Her cheeks were red from her blush and she refused to look him in the eye as she asked, “Is that okay?”

“Of course,” he scoffed, “It’s more than okay—that was fucking hot as hell.”

Zora turned to him with her mouth open, then quickly closed it with a snap of her jaw. She took a deep breath and kitted her eyebrows together, “I didn’t know I could do that, but it felt really good.”

Sanji tossed the towel on the floor, where some of her fluids had puddled on the hardwood, then climbed onto the bed to give her a quick kiss. “Good, I always want to make you feel good.”

Her cheeks were flushed, and she was avoiding his gaze. “So, is that it? Are we not gonna have sex now?”

“Depends,” he told her.

She met his eye and asked, “On what?”

He gave her a smile, “If you still want to.”

Zora rolled her eyes and scoffed, “Obviously, I still want to.”

Sanji chuckled lightly, “Alright, then.” He grabbed the box of condoms and ripped one of the foil packages open. Once he had the rubber rolled over his aching erection, he looked up at Zora to ask, “How do you wanna do it?”

She ended up crawling on top of him, pushing his shoulders down onto the mattress as she straddled his hips. Zora leaned down to kiss him softly and whispered, “Just like this.”

Before he could object, not that he would, Zora sunk herself down onto his length and a loud groan was ripped from his throat. _“Zora… Fuck.”_

When he looked up, Zora was smiling on top of him, her hands pressed against his chest as she started to move her hips up and down. Sanji’s own hands flew to her hips, but instead of setting the pace, he let Zora be in charge of the movement.

She brought one of her hands up to run through her hair and get it out of her face, then she leaned her body back and ground her hips down onto his. _“Mmmmmm, Sanji~ You feel so good~”_

Sanji closed his eyes and groaned in pleasure. Zora adjusted her legs so she was squatting, then started to move like an analog stick. She was bouncing around on top of him, fucking herself with his dick, making her breasts bounce against her chest.

His hands were gripping Zora’s hips like a lifeline; he felt like it was the one thing keeping him from blowing his load. Sanji couldn’t take his eyes off her, “Fuck, baby~ You make that look easy.”

She just smirked at him as she moved her hips in a circular motion, then slammed herself back down and asked, “You like that?”

He grinned widely, “I love it.”

Zora bit down on her lower lip and her face became more focused. She started moving faster, slammed herself down harder, and Sanji could see drops of sweat forming on her hairline.

When her legs began to faulter, Zora slipped, and his dick was suddenly buried deep inside her. Sanji moaned from the sensation and nearly came.

“Sorry,” she panted from above him as she tried to steady herself again but seemed to be having trouble.

Sanji took it upon himself to change things up. He sat up and wrapped his arm around her waist, “Let me.”

She seemed a little hesitant, but after realizing he wasn’t as tired as she was, nodded her head, “Okay.”

He flipped them over, so Zora was now on her back, and lifted her hips up off the mattress so he could rest her thighs on top of his legs. Sanji smirked at her flushed face, “You ready?”

A wicked grin crossed her face and she bucked her hips, “Hurry up.”

“Tch,” Sanji rolled his eyes with a fond smile, “So needy.”

Before she had the chance to complain, he sunk himself deep inside her and began nailing her into his mattress. Zora was making lewd noises and Sanji could hear their skin squelching and slapping against each other. He leaned down and began kissing and sucking at her neck while he continued fucking her cunt.

Sanji popped his mouth off her neck and sucked her earrings into his mouth. His hand went between her legs and he started rubbing her clit with his fingers. He opened his mouth the golden earrings fell from his tongue as he breathed out against her ear, “Cum for me, baby.”

He leaned back and watched in awe as Zora fell apart by his hand. Her eyes were screwed shut, but her mouth was hanging open as she arched her back and moaned a bunch of nonsense.

This. This is what he wants. To make her feel like this.

With a couple more hard thrusts, Sanji was falling over the edge and into his own orgasm. When his cock was spent, he pulled out and flipped onto his back beside her, panting for air.

They must’ve laid like that for a couple minutes, both catching their breath, coming down from the high of ecstasy. Then Zora sighed loudly, “That was incredible.”

Sanji turned his head to face her with a smile, “You were incredible.”

When Zora met his gaze, her green eyes were shining, “I love you, Sanji.”

He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers, “I love you, Zora.”

She put her hand on his cheek and rubbed their noses together, “I’m so happy I met you.”

“Fuck,” he closed his eyes and sighed, “Me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> I'm very excited to be posting this chapter, it was very fun to write and I ended up doing some online research on squirting, so that was fun ;P  
> Umm, any who~   
> Let me know what you thought of the [what I hope was] steamy sex between our beloved ZoSan!
> 
> I'm very excited to share the next chapter with everyone. I am going to continue working on it once I finish posting, but I'll give everyone a heads up on the chapter title: Girls Day
> 
> Are you all as excited as I am?
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	25. Girl's Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to AnonymousBTSARMY for commenting last chapter!  
> You always bring a smile to my face and warmth to my heart <3
> 
> WARNING: This chapter contains left-sided political views regarding sexual education and abortion

Zora spent the rest of her Saturday with Sanji but went home that night because she had made plans to hang out with her girl friends the next day.

When she arrived back at her apartment, Zora remembered the mess it was in after the girls had come over the previous night and helped her find an outfit to wear. There were clothes all over the place, shoes laying around, and overall it just looked like her entire closet was now in her living room. Since they were all going to be meeting at her place, she decided to just go to bed and make them help her clean up since they were the reason it was like this anyway.

She woke up on Sunday morning feeling well-rested and ready for the day, which would certainly be exciting if Nami had anything to do with it.

Zora made herself some oatmeal with a banana tossed in for breakfast and found herself wishing she could have Sanji’s cooking all the time.

It was around 10:30 when the girls showed up at her door.

“I can’t believe you haven’t cleaned up!” Nami immediately told her when she walked into her apartment.

“I can,” Perona said unimpressed.

Vivi was the only one who had any sense, “Well, we are the ones who made the mess…”

“Exactly!” Zora grinned at the three, “I was hoping you three would help me put my closet back together since you’re the reason it got torn apart.”

Nami seemed to give it some thought before saying, “Normally, I’d never offer to help you clean, but since it’s clothes I actually don’t mind. Maybe I can convince you to get rid of those god-awful boots you insist on keeping.”

“Ooo yeah!” Perona clapped her hands and smiled, “I’ve always wanted to throw out half of your wardrobe!”

Zora closed her eyes and groaned, “Nooo~ This isn’t an invitation for you to make me change my style! I just want my apartment clean!”

“Fine,” Nami rolled her eyes, “But I expect to hear what happened after you left the club on Friday.”

Vivi was already picking up the clothes that were thrown around on the floor and added, “Yeah, Zora, we were worried about you!”

Perona bitterly growled, “I hope you told that fucker off after what he did to you.”

“Don’t call him that! Sanji didn’t do anything wrong!” Zora ended up shouting, silencing the whole room.

The three of them gave her varying looks of confusion and pity, and Zora fucking hated it.

Vivi was the first one to say something, “But that article said he wanted to have sex with that woman…”

“The bitch that wrote that article was lying. Sanji had called me after and told me she was trying to get him to sleep with her and she didn’t believe him when he said he had a girlfriend. That’s why he was so pissed off in those photos,” she explained the situation to them as best she could. Zora needed to get this whole thing straightened out with her friends, she didn’t want them disliking Sanji because of some stupid tabloid article that wasn’t even true.

“Are you sure?” Nami asked, somewhat skeptically.

“Yes, I’m sure,” she emphasized her point by adding, “I’d bet my life on it.”

They seemed to be convinced after that, but then Perona began shouting, “I’m so sorry, Zora! I should’ve believed you from the beginning!”

Zora rolled her eyes, “I’ll forgive you if you hurry up and clean my apartment.”

Perona nodded her head and between the four of them, they were able to get her place cleaned up before lunchtime.

For whatever reason, they _insisted_ on going to Sanji’s restaurant.

Oddly enough, when they arrived, they were all met with a familiar face. “Hey, Ace! It’s nice to see you!” Vivi gave the freckled man a huge smile when they walked in and added, “I forgot that you work here!”

Ace gave the four of them his toothiest grin that always reminded Zora of Luffy, “Hey! I haven’t seen you gals in a while!”

“We’re having a girl’s day,” Perona told him happily.

Nami then pointed her thumb at Zora and said, “This one made us help clean her apartment, so now we are making her buy us lunch.”

“Hey! I did _not_ agree to that!” Zora shouted.

Ace burst out laughing, then a moment later a door flew open and Zora recognized a familiar voice shouting, “I CAN _HEAR_ YOU LAUGHING, ACE! GET BACK TO—Zora?”

Immediately, Zora began to smile, “Hey, Sanji.”

He was wearing all white, the typical outfit she’s always seen chefs wear in movies, minus the hat. There was a big, dopey grin on his face as he walked over to them, “What’re you doing here? I thought you were having a girl’s day?”

“We are,” she gestured to her friends, “They wanted to come here for lunch.”

Sanji gave the girls a smile and a nod, then turned to Ace, “Well? What’re you waiting for? Get the ladies a table!”

Unlike Sanji, Ace seemed to be in no hurry, “Relax, man, I’m getting there. We were just talking.”

“Put them at table four, it’s got the best view.” Sanji turned back to them and that gorgeous smile Zora loved so much was on his face, “I’m really happy to see you.”

“Me too, I missed you,” she told him with a smile of her own.

Zora didn’t even realize how close they were standing until Nami cleared her throat, “So, are we gonna go sit down or what?”

Unfortunately, Sanji stepped away, “Yes, yes. Ace, bring the ladies to their table, please.” Then he stepped closer to Zora and gave her a kiss on her cheek before quickly heading back through the door he came out of.

Once he was gone, Zora turned to the other people she was with, who were all giving her smug looks, and asked, “What?”

Nami clicked her tongue, “Oh, nothing~”

Vivi was smiling like a kid in a candy shop while Perona was dramatically holding her chest.

“So, you two really are dating,” Ace ended up saying.

Zora raised her eyebrow at him, “Yeah? So what?”

Ace shook his head with that same old smile of his as he grabbed them all menus, “Oh, nothing~ Follow me, I’ll show you to your table.”

The table they were seated at really did have a nice view. The window overlooked the river and Zora could see much of the city’s skyline. After they took their seats, Ace took their drink orders then left them alone to look at the menu.

“So, Zora,” Nami called her attention as she was browsing the menu, “Do you think we can eat for free since you’re dating the owner?”

She scoffed, “I don’t know, but I’m not going to ask for you.”

Nami looked up from her menu with a pout, “Come on, why not?”

Zora rolled her eyes, “Because I don’t want Sanji to think I’m dating him for his money.”

“I’d date him for his money—no offence, Vivi.”

Vivi gave her fiancé a knowing smile as Zora shook her head and reminded her, “You’re a lesbian, the only reason you’d date _any_ man is for their money.”

“I’m just glad you two are dating so I don’t have to hear all your pathetic moping about him anymore,” Perona blandly chimed in.

“I did _not_ mope about him,” she tells them sternly.

All three gave her that look that said they weren’t going to believe her.

“I didn’t!” She insisted again.

“Yeah, yeah whatever,” Perona lifted up her menu to keep looking and Zora was just about to argue some more when Ace returns with their drinks.

“Did you get enough time to look at the menu?”

“Yes, I’ll have the salmon with the steamed vegetables on the side,” Nami ordered.

“Could I please have the grilled shrimp pasta?” Vivi politely asked.

Perona then said, “I’ll get the spinach and strawberry salad.”

Zora hadn’t really looked at the menu, “Uh, can you just tell Sanji I’ll have whatever he thinks I’ll like best?”

Ace gave her a smug look as he took their menus, “Alright, sounds good.”

Once again, the three girls were giving her a weird look, “What?”

“Oh, nothing~” Nami smiled deviously.

She narrowed her eyes and pointed out, “You keep saying that.”

“Do I?”

“Yes,” Zora was seething, “Why are you acting so weird?”

Vivi started giggling, “We aren’t, you are.”

This surprised Zora, and her friends must’ve noticed, because Perona started to explain, “You’ve been acting like you’re in love with the guy.”

Suddenly, her face started getting hot and Zora tried to look out the window and away from their prying eyes.

Nami suddenly asked, “Wait a second, you guys don’t say you love each other, do you?”

Her cheeks felt like they were on fire. Zora took a long gulp of her water.

“Oh. My. God.” Nami’s eyebrows were high on her forehead, “You do!”

“Shut up! I don’t want to talk about this!” She tried her best to keep her voice at an acceptable volume, but she was embarrassed and still ended up shouting.

“Who said it first? When?” Vivi asked curiously.

Zora groaned, she knew she wasn’t going to get out of this, and told them, “He did. It was the night we left the club to go for a walk, like two weeks ago.”

“Do you actually say it back?” Nami questioned.

“Yes, I say it back!” She covered her face with her hands, wishing she could disappear.

Vivi sounded touched, “Awe, I think it’s sweet.”

“Wait a second, does that mean you two have…you know…done ‘it’?” Nami ended up asking.

Zora froze, then Perona started shouting, “What?! Zora! Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“Why should I have to tell you about that?!” She shouted back.

“It’s a big deal! Are you even on birth control?! You could get an STD or worse, pregnant!” Perona scolded.

She glared at her cousin, “This is hardly the time or place to discuss this, but we’ve been using condoms.” Zora paused, then added a little offended, “And why is getting pregnant worse than getting an STD?”

“Do you honestly want to have that guy’s baby?” Nami asked in disbelief.

Honestly, Zora hadn’t really thought about it, but she didn’t appreciate the way Nami asked and said, “I don’t know—I’ve never really thought about having kids in general.”

They all looked relieved, but Vivi told her, “You both should still go to the doctor and get tested. You could also talk to them about other forms of birth control.”

“Ugh,” she groaned internally, but ultimately told them, “I know, you’re right. It’s not a bad idea.”

Perona reminded her, “Isn’t Luffy’s boyfriend a doctor or something? Maybe you could ask him.”

“Technically, he’s a heart surgeon, but he basically knows everything about the human body so I’m sure he could help at least a little.” Nami smirked and pointed out, “One of the many good things about not having a partner with a dick is you don’t have to worry about that as much.”

Vivi gave Zora a sympathetic look and said, “Don’t listen to her, we both are on birth control. It doesn’t just prevent pregnancy. I use it so I don’t have to deal with my period as much and Nami likes the pill because it helps with her acne.”

“Vivi!” Nami gave her fiancé a look of betrayal, “You aren’t supposed to tell people that stuff!”

The blue-haired woman rolled her eyes, “Why not? We’re all girls here, it’s not like we don’t know what having a period is like or never had a pimple in our lives.”

Perona giggled, “She’s right, I fucking hated getting my period—then I got an IUD and now I don’t have to deal with it anymore.”

Zora raised her eyebrows in surprise, “Does being on birth control actually stop you from getting your period?”

“It depends,” Vivi began to explain, “Everyone is different, so an IUD might work for Perona to not get her period, but for some women it can make it worse. Just like with my arm implant, I don’t get my period with it, but there’s a gal at work who ended up getting her period more often with it.”

“I just use the pill because it helps regulate my hormones,” Nami told her, then added, “Plus it makes my period very light and not last as many days.”

“Why didn’t I know about any of this?” Zora asked no one in particular, because honestly, this would’ve been nice to know.

Vivi is the one who answered by bitterly pointing out, “Because the public education system only teaches abstinence and then gets in an uproar about abortion. They don’t think sex-ed is important, but if they taught sex-ed people would be better educated about everything and wouldn’t be having as many unplanned pregnancies.” She was clearly frustrated by the time she finished and ended up taking a deep breath, “Sorry, it just gets me worked up.”

Perona grinned at her, “Oh no, it was good! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought the same thing!”

Zora looked at Perona, confused, “You’ve had an abortion.”

The pink-haired woman rolled her eyes, “Yeah~ When I was eighteen and because I was stupid and having unprotected sex. No one ever taught me about that stuff, I learned about it when I went to Planned Parenthood for my abortion.”

“Exactly!” Vivi shouted with enthusiasm.

Immediately after Nami groaned, “Oh no…”

“Those damn conservatives are trying to get rid of Planned Partenhood because they think all they do is provide abortions, but they do _so much more_ than that!” Vivi was passionately waving around her hands as she spoke, “If they didn’t prevent sex-ed being taught in schools, they wouldn’t have to worry so much about young girls getting pregnant and having abortions! It’s ridiculous! If they could just realize they are being counter-productive—”

“Here’s your food!” Ace suddenly interrupted with a smile and began setting down their plates. “No need to stop on my account,” Ace chuckled and added, “I totally agree, you know.”

Vivi looked like she wanted to curl-in on herself and disappear. Honestly, Zora had no idea she was so passionate about it or could talk that much.

Ace set down her plate and said, “It’s a salmon and egg donburi, mixed with green onion and soy sauce. Sanji made sure I memorized that before bringing it here.”

“It looks really fucking good,” she pointed out, stunned that she was being served a Japanese dish. Zora couldn’t remember the last time she ate something like this, probably not since her mother passed away. She used her fork to scoop up some of the meat and rice then took a bite, groaning at the taste, “It _is_ really good.”

“I’ll be sure to let him know,” Ace smiled and asked, “Is there anything else I can get you right away?”

“No, I think we’re fine, thanks Ace,” Nami waved him off and continued eating her own meal.

“Okay, I know I just got a salad, but this is really fucking good,” Perona brought another forkful to her mouth and closed her eyes in satisfaction while she chewed.

“I didn’t want to say anything, but this is the best salmon I’ve ever had.”

Vivi tilted her head and asked, “Why wouldn’t you say anything?”

Nami pouted her lips, “Because I didn’t want a second reason why I’d date him.”

Perona and Vivi laughed, but Zora glared at her and said, “Well, you can’t date him because I am.” Zora knew that Nami was joking, but she seriously hated the idea of someone else getting to be with Sanji. She knew that there were other women before her, but he was with her now, and she wanted it to stay that way.

She didn’t notice the looks the three of them were giving each other and she didn’t consider why they weren’t still talking because Zora was too busy stuffing her face with food.

“Glad to see you’re enjoying your meal,” the unmistakable sound of her boyfriend’s voice graced her ears.

Zora turned her head and saw the man standing next to their table with that same gorgeous smile. Her mouth was full of rice, so she quickly swallowed it and took a drink of her water. The girls hadn’t said anything, and that’s when she noticed they were all smirking at her. She ignored them and looked at Sanji, “What’re you doing out here? Aren’t you supposed to be cooking?”

He shrugged his shoulder and pulled up a chair from a nearby table, “It’s not that busy, Thatch can handle the kitchen. I wanted to make sure everyone was enjoying the meal.”

“We are!” Vivi smiled and said, “The food is delicious.”

Perona agreed, “It is, did you make everything?”

He nodded his head, “Yeah, I did.”

Nami sighed dramatically and added, “I just wish it wasn’t so expensive.”

Sanji waved his hand, “I already told Ace not to charge you. It’s your first time here, and you’re Zora’s friends, so it’s on the house.”

“You don’t have to do that, Sanji,” she tried to tell him, but he wasn’t having it.

“No, no—I owe these ladies for helping me out with you.”

Zora was confused and asked, “What’re you talking about?”

Sanji glanced at the girls, they all seemed to share some kind of secret from her. Nami was the one who explained, “We just made sure you gave him a chance. We were all tired of hearing you mope about it, so we told him we’d make sure you’d come out the next week.”

She raised her eyebrow and turned to Sanji, who ended up saying, “It was after you left the club that night I bought the four of you drinks.”

“Oh,” Zora remembered that night. She’d left after Sanji told her the next person he wanted to sleep with was her. That felt like a lifetime ago.

Then Perona said, “I want to apologize to you, Sanji. I’m the one who showed that article to Zora—I was just trying to look out for her, I thought it was true.”

He turned to Perona and smiled, “It’s fine, I’m aware of the reputation I’ve made for myself—can’t say I blame you for thinking it’s true.” Then Sanji looked at Zora and said, “But I like what I have, and I don’t want anyone else.”

“Awe~” Vivi clasped her hands in front of her chest, “You two are so cute.”

“Zora said you two say you love each other,” Nami teased with a devious smile.

When she turned to look at Sanji, he was blushing, “Yes, that’s true.”

Nami’s smile grew further as she asked, “So, is it like what you thought?”

Zora was just about to scold her friend for asking such a strange question, but then Sanji answered, “No, it’s nothing like what I imagined.” She turned to Sanji with a questioning look, but he just kept talking, “It’s a lot scarier than I thought it would be. I always thought it would be easy, like breathing, but it’s more like getting addicted to cigarettes. After you smoke one, you get this buzz and after a while you keep wanting more and more. If you try to quit you get withdraws, but if you go to fast and have to many you get sick. It’s like, you know this thing can destroy you, but you want it so much that you stop caring about the consequences and keep doing it for the high.”

All four women had finished eating and were now just sitting, thinking about what Sanji had said. Perona ended up being the one to break the silence, “Damn. I’ve never been in love, but I feel like that isn’t the worse analogy someone’s ever made.”

“Yeah, I mean, he’s not _wrong,”_ Nami reluctantly pointed out.

“It _is_ intoxicating—being around someone you love,” Vivi smiled softly and put her hand on Nami’s.

Zora’s eyes flickered to Sanji, who was already looking at her with a fond smile across his lips. Then he got up from his chair and walked next to Zora, “I should get back to the kitchen.” He leaned down and kissed the top of her head, “I’ll talk to you later.”

Her cheeks were warm as she smiled up at him, “Okay, I love you.”

The corner of his mouth twitched, he leaned down again to give her a kiss on the lips, and said, “I love you too.” Then he stood back up and told the girls, “You ladies enjoy the rest of your day, it was nice seeing you all again.”

After Sanji walked away Zora turned to look at her friends who were all three staring at them in amusement. Nami had her eyebrow raised in a way that honestly terrified Zora, Vivi looked like she was going to faint, and Perona was actually fanning herself with her hand. She flat-out told them, “You guys are ridiculous.”

Perona’s wrist stopped moving and her eyes widened in shock, “What do you expect us to do? This is your first relationship—we aren’t used to seeing you like this!”

Zora rolled her eyes and sighed “It’s not that big a deal.”

“Not that big a deal?!” Nami shouted and slammed her fists on the table, rattling their empty dishes, “Zora, I’ve known you for years and I have _never_ seen you look at someone like that!” She began to feel her face heating up as Nami continued to say, “After what I’ve seen, if you two weren’t saying ‘I love you’ I’d be spending the rest of today making you realize that you’re madly in love with the guy.”

“What’s your point?” Zora decided to just get whatever this was over with.

Nami crossed her arms and grinned, “Well, I think we should go to the spa and do some shopping. We can pick out some sexy lingerie for you and get your bikini waxed.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“Ooo! I like this idea!” Perona giggled and clapped her hands.

Vivi was even smiling, “This sounds like fun!”

Zora did _not_ think it sounded like fun, but she was outnumbered and knew there was no getting herself out of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> I wasn't planning on posting this chapter so soon, but I finished it and couldn't help myself. I wanted to share it with you all <3
> 
> This chapter is kinda close to my heart. Out of the three girls, it made sense in my mind for Vivi to have a strong political voice. Vivi's political views mentioned in this chapter are very similar to my own. I think sex-ed is super important and should be taught much more extensively.   
> My older sister actually got pregnant when she was sixteen; she never had her first period and didn't think she could get pregnant (obviously this isn't true). She also didn't really know she had been pregnant until she went into labor. My niece was born like three months premature and my sister and her boyfriend at the time ended up giving her up for adoption. She is going to be eleven at the end of August; it is an open adoption, so my family can visit and get updates on her and whatnot. I am very happy that my niece is growing up with loving parents and even has a younger brother now, but at the same time I wish my sister never had to go through such a traumatic experience. She has told me in recent years that she would've had an abortion if she had known, which I think is understandable. Still, I have a lot of respect for her because if I had been in that situation, I probably would not have given her up for adoption and raised her myself (just because I've always wanted to be a mom whereas my sister does not feel this way), which is not something a sixteen year old should have to be worrying about. I'm twenty-four and if I were to get pregnant right now I would want to have an abortion; but my boyfriend and I practice safe sex to prevent it from happening anyway. So yeah, I'm pro-choice and I honestly don't want to have anyone try and convince me otherwise, so don't even try.  
> I just wanted to share that story, because I think it's important to talk about stuff like that.
> 
> Otherwise, I hope this chapter was enjoyable to read. I tried to get some cute little ZoSan moments in there because they're the best.  
> Please let me know what you think of the story in a comment, I'd love to hear from you!
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	26. All In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to amberaza and AnonymousBTSARMY for commenting last chapter!  
> Sorry this one took longer than I expected to write, but it's a long one.  
> Get ready for some smut ;P

Before Sanji went back into the kitchen, he went to his office to smoke a cigarette. He felt like he needed it to calm his nerves after seeing Zora and her friends. Not that he didn’t enjoy it—he loved being able to cook them lunch and say hello—he just wasn’t expecting it.

Once he smoked the cigarette down to the filter, Sanji left his office and ran into the four women while they were leaving the restaurant.

Zora noticed him first and smiled seductively, “Fancy seeing you here.”

Sanji let out a loud bark of joyful laughter and shook his head. He walked up to her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and gave her a kiss. When he pulled away, he was smiling from ear to ear.

Her emerald green eyes met his gaze and she asked, “What was that for?”

“No reason,” he shrugged his shoulders and kissed her again.

She sighed softly and tossed her arms around his neck, “Okay.”

Then her friend Nami loudly cleared her throat, “Yes, yes, you two are adorable, now let’s get going.”

Sanji watched as Zora rolled her eyes and turned to her friend, “Just a second!” The action made him laugh again, but Zora was pouting at him, “They are making me go lingerie shopping.”

He immediately stopped laughing as he started to imagine Zora wearing a corset and pantyhose, then quickly shook his head because the last thing he needed right now was to give himself a nosebleed in his chef’s whites. “Well, don’t let me hold you ladies up! Go have fun!” He let go of Zora and turned to her friends with a thumbs up and an excited smirk.

The pink-haired woman, Perona, giggled and started to drag Zora away, “Oh, we will!”

Zora turned around to give him a look of betrayal, but it only made Sanji smile wider. He couldn’t wait to see what they picked out.

The rest of lunch was a blur of different dishes being cooked, orders being given, and the usual chaos that was his kitchen. When things slowed down and Sanji was getting ready to leave for the day, Ace ended up coming into his office, “Hey, do you have a minute?”

He raised his eyebrow, but nodded his head, “Yeah, sure. What’s up?”

Ace looked a little nervous, which Sanji thought was weird, at least until he said, “I noticed people taking pictures earlier.” He immediately received Sanji’s undivided attention and continued saying, “It was while you were with Zora. I didn’t want to say anything earlier cause we were busy, and I didn’t know how you’d react, but I still thought you should know.”

“Yeah, I get it.” Sanji sat himself down in his office chair, “Fuck, do you think it was paparazzi?”

“Nah, they just seemed like regular people to me,” Ace told him reassuringly.

“That doesn’t mean they won’t post it online,” Sanji pointed out with a sigh. He hadn’t thought about it at the time, he had been too wrapped up in Zora’s presence that the fact anyone could take a photo of them didn’t even cross his mind.

“Dude, I can tell you’re freaking out in your head,” Ace pulled him out of his thoughts and into the present, “Nothing you can really do about it, other than prepare yourself and Zora.”

Sanji ran his hand down his face in frustration and groaned, “Fuck, I gotta give her a head’s up.”

“Do what you gotta do, man. I’m off for the day, I’ll see ya tomorrow!” Ace waved him goodbye and left him alone in his office.

He decided to postpone his departure and took out his cell phone. Sanji brought up Zora’s contact and gave her a call.

It rang a couple of times before Zora answered, “Hey!”

“Hey baby,” he let out a breath after hearing her voice.

There was a moment of quiet between them before she asked, “What’s wrong?”

Sanji closed his eyes and shook his head in disbelief at the fact she could tell that something was indeed wrong. He sighed dejectedly, “Ace just told me a few minutes ago that he saw people taking photos of us earlier.”

“Oh,” she sounded more understanding than upset as she said, “I guess that’s to be expected.”

“I’m sorry, Zora. I wish we could have a normal relationship where we didn’t need to worry about this kind of shit.”

“I knew what I was getting myself into when I agreed to date you.” Zora lightly chuckled, “I mean, it sucks that we apparently can’t kiss in public without people taking pictures but fuck it!”

“What do you mean, ‘fuck it’?” Sanji was a little shocked by what she was saying.

“I mean if people see us together, then they see us together. I want people to know that you’re mine and they can’t have you.”

He felt like the wind was knocked out of him. “Do, do you mean that?”

She let out a small breath of air and assured him, “’Course I do, I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t.”

Sanji’s heart was melting, warming from Zora’s words. He knew he didn’t deserve her love, didn’t deserve to be with someone so incredibly perfect and wonderful. Even so, he didn’t want to lose this. If he ever lost Zora, he knows it would destroy him.

He swallowed the lump that formed in his throat and changed the subject, “How was shopping?”

Zora groaned loudly, “Oh my god, don’t even get me started. I can’t tell you how many things they made me try on.”

“Did you end up getting anything?” He couldn’t help himself; his curiosity was getting the best of him.

She chuckled deeply, seductively, “What do you think?”

His prick was starting to swell with blood and Sanji had to adjust. “Are you doing anything else the rest of the day?”

“Nope,” she popped the ‘p’ and added, “I’m free.”

Sanji once again started gathering his things to leave, “I’m leaving work now, can I come over?”

Zora hummed, “Like you even have to ask.”

~

Carrying the bag he was given when he purchased a box of condoms at the drugstore, Sanji rode the elevator up to the third floor, turned left down the hallway, and knocked on the door to Zora’s apartment. It was the third time he’s been here, but it all felt familiar. Only a moment after he knocked, the door swung open and took Sanji’s breath with it.

Standing in the doorway was Zora and she was wearing what he presumed was the lingerie she’d gotten. She wore a black lace bodysuit with garters that held up the sheer black tights that reached her upper thigh. The fabric didn’t cover the center of her chest, so her diagonal scar was visible across her torso. When he stopped oogling her outfit, he glanced up at her face, expecting to see her blushing and instead sees Zora’s cocky smirk.

Sanji opened his mouth to say something but was quickly interrupted by Zora pulling him in for a kiss. She closed the apartment door behind them and Sanji heard the deadbolt slide into place. He kissed her for a while longer before deciding to break away and finally say, “You look fucking sexy, baby.”

She caught her breath with a smile, “I’m glad you like it.”

He smirked at her and said, “I fucking love it. I fucking love _you.”_

Zora laughed, “I fucking love _you!”_

The two of them simultaneously decided to continue making out with each other and started removing Sanji’s clothes. He started with toeing off his shoes, not at all worried about untying them like he usually does. Zora’s movements are rough and jerky as she undoes his belt and unzips his pants, but her hands are soft and gentle when they grope him through his briefs. Sanji expertly undoes the buttons of his shirt before pulling his arms from the sleeves and wrapping them around the woman in front of him.

He stopped kissing her lips and began a trail of wet sloppy kisses from her jaw down to her collarbone. Sanji leaned back to admire the woman in his arms, “You do things to me, you know?”

Seeing Zora’s gaze flooded with lust and her wide, seductive grin was proof enough, but she confirmed, “I know.”

Sanji let his eyes wander further down her chest, admiring the skin uncovered by the black lace. He tried to swallow the lump in his throat as his fingers ghosted over the thick scar and he asked the question he’s wondered about since he first saw it, “How?”

Zora shook her head, “It doesn’t matter.”

Her words pierced him like a knife, “Of course it fucking matters! It looks like someone tried to cut you in half!”

She placed her hand on his cheek and softly whispered, “But they didn’t.”

Sanji closed his eyes and tried to steady his rapidly beating heart. He shouldn’t be so concerned about it, Zora was fine, she was alive, she was right there in his arms. But there was still the part of his brain that constantly reminded him that everything was temporary and would eventually come to an end.

He decided that Zora was right, it didn’t matter how she got that scar, only that she was in this moment with him right now. Sanji opened his eyes and smiled, “I brought condoms.”

Zora glanced between his face and the bag he was now holding up, then with a smirk, she said, “Well, we don’t want those going to waste now do we?”

“You read my mind,” he told her with a grin.

She hooked her fingers into the top of his briefs and tugged on the elastic, “Let’s go to the bedroom.”

Sanji raised his eyebrow at her, unsure why they couldn’t just continue where they left off, but instead obediently followed Zora to her bedroom.

The next thing Sanji knew, he was laying on his back in the middle of the bed and Zora was pulling his briefs down his legs, exposing his hard-on to the cool air. She crawled over the top of him like a tiger hunting its prey, “I couldn’t stop thinking about how you’d react to seeing me in some of those outfits they made me try on.”

He gulped when their eyes met and Sanji could see just how dark Zora’s green was with lust.

Zora grabbed his erection and licked the head, then she started wiggling her tongue over the slit, licking up the pre-cum that was beginning to drip. Sanji opened his mouth, but nothing came out, not even when Zora closed her mouth around the appendage. She held eye-contact with him as she started bobbing her head and hollowing her cheeks, using her tongue on the underside of his cock, stroking the vein that resides there.

It wasn’t until he felt himself hit the back of her throat that he found his voice, _“Ohhh fuck, fuck, fuck!”_ Sanji tightly closed his eyes shut and a low moan escaped his throat when Zora hummed around his dick.

She pulled him out of her mouth and when Sanji opened his eyes again, Zora was rubbing his head around her mouth, as if she was applying lipstick. When she caught his gaze, she grinned seductively and asked, “You like that?”

Sanji groaned as his head fell back against the mattress, _“Yesss, baby~”_

A deep chuckle passed her lips and she gave his cock one last swipe of her tongue before getting off. Before Sanji could complain, Zora asked, “Could we try to sixty-nine?”

With wide eyes, Sanji nodded his head and licked his lips, “Fuck yeah we can. Come sit on my face.”

Zora sat back on her knees with a smile on her face and a mischievous glint in her eyes. Her skin was flushed, but he assumed she was embarrassed from asking the question. Still, she crawled over him and squatted herself over his chest.

He admired the view of her ass, perfectly framed by a lacey black thong, and ran his hands up her legs, noticing, “You shaved your legs?”

She wrapped her hand around his cock and gave it an experimental stroke, “Something like that.” Zora chose to take that moment to continue using her mouth on him.

Sanji bit his lower lip to stop himself from whimpering, Zora was getting really fucking good at giving head. He decided it was about time he participated on his end of the sixty-nining and hooked his fingers around the fabric getting in the way. When he pulled it aside he realized what she’d meant. “Holy shit! You got a bikini wax!”

Zora laughed around his cock and the vibrations felt fucking incredible. Sanji was on the verge of getting a nosebleed, he could sense it. He needed to stop thinking about it and just _experience._

As soon as he saw there was nothing but her bare skin, something inside him came to life. He literally ripped the thong off her, he shredded the lace with his fingers and tossed the useless fabric aside. Then Sanji made sure his tongue tasted every little bit of whatever was between Zora’s thighs.

She moaned as she sucked his dick and pushed her ass against his face. Sanji smiled at her desperate antics, he decided to try something else that was new and let his tongue wander upwards to Zora’s puckered hole.

When his tongue first pressed against it, Zora’s body froze, but it was only a moment before she continued sucking him off. He gripped one of her ass cheeks in each hand and wiggled his tongue past the first ring of muscles. Zora seemed to like it if her sucking his cock harder and moaning was any indicator.

Sanji prodded her asshole with his tongue a few times, then slapped her ass and made the thick muscle jiggle. He immediately dove back in licking and sucking, she still seemed into it, so Sanji started using his teeth, nipping at the edge of her now gaping hole.

Zora was becoming more and more malleable with every stroke of his tongue. He stopped caring about his own pleasure and pulled Zora’s mouth off his cock as he flipped her body and nearly bent her in half. Only her head, neck, and shoulders remained on the bed, Sanji had dragged her legs over his shoulders and got himself a front-row-seat for the show.

He locked eyes with Zora and smirked, he was pleased to see nothing but excitement there. Sanji held her gaze as he stuck out his tongue and went to her asshole. The face she’d made was the raunchiest thing Sanji’s ever seen; this was the first time he’s ever done this after all. He couldn’t believe how sexy it was, how big of a turn on it was; he never expected to enjoy tongue-fucking someone’s asshole. He closed his eyes and savored the moment, but when he opened them, he was ready for a new challenge.

Sanji lifted Zora’s legs off his shoulders and bent her knees towards her head. He grabbed her ass cheeks and spread her out for him to see. Everything was wet, glistening with either her own fluids or Sanji’s saliva. Both her holes were quivering and Sanji decided to continue trying new things.

He slipped two of his fingers into her cunt, swirled them around some, then pulled them out to find them covered with her juices. Sanji was grinning while he watched Zora’s face as he pushed his finger into her ass. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she let out a loud moan when he started moving it in and out.

“You look really good like this,” he ended up telling her.

Zora cracked her eyes open and scoffed, “Pervert.”

Sanji took that as a compliment and reminded her, “I’m not the one who likes getting fingered in the ass.”

She glared at him, but ultimately gave up and said, “I’m just as surprised as you are about that one.”

He smirked as he told her, “I’ve never done ass stuff before.”

“Whadda ya mean?”

Sanji pulled his finger out of her ass and pulled her cheeks apart to get a good look at her hole. He spit into her ass, then leaned forward to continue loosening the muscle with his tongue. It was such a turn on, he always thought it would be gross or weird, but how could it be either of those things when it made both of them feel _this good?_

“Sanji~” She whined his name and was breathing heavily.

He swirled his tongue around a few more times before pulling away and finally answered her question, “You’re the only person whose ass I’ve licked.”

Her face turned pink and when she opened her mouth, Sanji was expecting to be scolded or something, but instead, Zora loudly moaned, _“Fuck~ That’s so hot!”_

A deep, animalistic rumble came from his chest and Sanji wasted no time before plunging back in. He dipped and twirled his tongue into that ring of muscle as if it was the only way to cure his hunger. Sanji had never done this before, but luckily for him, his lack of finesse was in no way hindering his ability to effectively do the job.

Zora’s mouth was hanging open as she stared up at him with hooded eyes. She looked like she’d already gotten fucked with the drool coming out of the corner of her mouth.

Sanji spit more into her ass and replaced his tongue with his finger, wiggling the digit around while he gave her more attention elsewhere. Her pussy was puddling with juices, so Sanji lapped it up with his tongue and savored the taste. When he spread apart her folds, he flattened his tongue and gave her a long, hard lick up to her clit where he sucked and teased the bundle of nerves.

He continued fingering her ass as his tongue played with her clit. Zora was quickly turning into a moaning mess, unable to say anything besides his name and cry for more.

Then he was able to slip a second finger into her ass and started scissoring them apart, stretching Zora’s hole even further.

She either didn’t notice or didn’t care, because Zora continued moaning his name and singing his praises.

He wondered what it would feel like to fuck her in the ass, probably really good. Sanji was feeling especially tempted when he leaned back and watched as his fingers disappeared inside. Perhaps another time.

Sanji kept his two fingers in her ass, wiggling them around, as he lowered his mouth to her hairless pussy while never breaking eye-contact with Zora. He left loud, wet kisses around her folds, used his tongue far more than necessary—but none of this was really _necessary._

Apparently, this is what he turned into when his super sexy girlfriend not only wears lingerie for him, but also gets her bikini waxed. That was the last thing he ever expected. Sanji actually liked her bush, thought it was sexy how unkept it was, like she never expected someone to go near that part of her body and therefore didn’t need to groom it. There was that virgin sort of feel to it and now that she was completely hairless, she seemed much more grown-up and sexy in a different way. He knew it must’ve hurt to have it done and could only imagine how much of a fight she probably put up, so he wanted to make it worth her while.

He didn’t stop eating her out until she’d cum on his face. When she did, Sanji licked up every last drop. He was living out one of his fantasies, the kind he comes up with when he’s alone and horny. Sanji was finally gonna fuck a woman in lingerie and tights.

With newfound purpose, Sanji lowered Zora’s body back onto the mattress and reached for the box of condoms. He rolled one onto his aching erection, then crawled above her body and gave her a kiss. It wasn’t like the typical kiss they’d share together; this one was all-consuming and overpowering, commanding and greedy, the kind of kiss that takes one’s breath away.

Sanji positioned himself between her legs and sunk himself balls-deep into her pussy on the first try. Her legs were wrapped around his torso, keeping them together. He continued making out with Zora while his hands groped every inch of her lace-covered skin.

Eventually, he started grinding against her, sinking himself deeper, but never giving a good thrust. Sanji pulled away from her mouth and smiled at the wonderful sight of Zora happily filled with his cock and kissed out of her mind. His hands made their way to her waist and with a firm grip, Sanji rocked his hips back then slammed forward.

All the air in Zora’s lungs was forced out of her in a loud moan, but Sanji wasn’t in the mood for showing mercy and he knew Zora could handle it. He grabbed her legs, pushed her knees toward her head, and instructed, “Hold your knees to your chest.”

Zora’s eyes widened, probably shocked by the commanding tone of his voice, but she did exactly what he asked.

The corner of his mouth twitched up into a smirk, “You’re so good for me, baby.” He held onto her ass and pulled himself out, closing his eyes at the tight squeeze, then slammed himself back into her depths. He did it again and again, over and over, each time harder than the last.

 _“Ahhhh~ Sanji!”_ He met her gaze and could tell she was close.

Sanji picked up the pace and started pounding into her much faster. He brought his right thumb over to her clit and held eye-contact as he rubbed it out of her. The feeling of Zora clenching around his dick while she orgasmed was ultimately what brought him over the edge.

He managed two more shallow thrusts before he was feeling too sensitive to continue and rolled off her. Sanji closed his eyes and took a moment to catch his breath before sitting up to remove the condom. He slipped it off his softening dick and tied a knot to seal the end, then got up from the bed to throw it away.

When he turned back to the bed, Zora was laying on her side with her arm propping her head up. She had a thoughtful look upon her face, like she was trying to think of how to say something, most-likely important, so he stayed quiet and waited. Zora noticed this and smiled at him, the sight of it made Sanji’s heart race.

“I was just thinking about something the girls said earlier,” the corner of her mouth twitched, as if she was unsure of something.

He stepped closer to the bed and told her with a comforting tone, “You can tell me, I won’t get mad.”

She searched his gaze and slowly began nodding her head but the words were quick to tumble past her lips, “Okay, so I know that we’ve been using condoms, but the girls were talking about other kinds of birth control and apparently they can help with periods—which would be great because I fucking hate getting my period. They also said we should get tested for STDs and I should take a pregnancy test.”

Sanji sat himself down on the bed after hearing all that. He scratched his jaw, noticed his goatee was wet with what he assumed was Zora’s juices, and later confirmed it with a lick to his finger. “Okay,” he nodded his head in agreement, “We should do that.”

Zora raised her eyebrow, suspicious, “Seriously? It was that easy?”

He shrugged his shoulders, “Why should it be hard?”

The corner of her lips tugged upwards, “I dunno, guess I thought you might freak out if I mentioned that kind of stuff.”

Sanji made himself comfortable on the bed, laying down facing Zora. He assured her with a gentle smile, “I used to sleep around, but I was responsible and always used condoms.”

She wouldn’t look him in the eye while she asked, “What about the stuff about periods?”

He rolled his eyes with a smirk, “What about it? Women menstruate, it’s not something to be ashamed of. I’ve slept with women who were on their period.”

Zora scrunched up her face in disgust, “Doesn’t the blood get everywhere?”

“Depends,” he looked her in the eye and told her, “But I don’t want to think about being with anyone but you.”

She studied him for a moment, then nodded her head and said, “Nami had asked me if I’d want to have your kid while we were at lunch. I told her I didn’t know because I never thought about having kids in general. And I know we haven’t been dating for very long—or have even known each other very long but—” Zora needed to catch her breath after speaking so fast, her cheeks were flushed but Sanji thought it had little to do with being out of breath.

When a minute passed and she still said nothing, Sanji gave her some encouragement, “Hey, you can ask me anything.”

She let out a deep huff of air, “Okay.” Zora rolled onto her front and turned to face him, “I have never been in a relationship before, so I don’t really have anything to compare this to besides my friends’ relationships. I know that you’ve been with many women, and that’s why I wanted to ask you if—” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “If there really is something special about you and me, or if it’s like this with everyone.”

Sanji looked her in the eye and told her the truth, “It’s not like this with everyone. The reason I was with so many women was because I liked having sex and it was easy to find women who’d sleep with me. I gave up on having a real relationship after I found my fiancé with another man the day before we were supposed to get married. It had been an arranged marriage and I tried to make the most out of the situation, but as soon as I realized what my life would become if I went through with it, I called it off. After that I felt free, but I felt like I had lost my chance at having a wife and kids.” He couldn’t bring himself to say anything more.

Zora took his silence like it was nothing. Her hand found his and she threaded their fingers together. She gave him the gentlest smile he’s ever received, “Maybe you didn’t.”

His chest felt full, like her words were his fuel. Sanji smiled fondly, “From the moment I first laid eyes on you I knew you were special. I couldn’t stop thinking about you—I don’t usually get so swept up in one person, so normally if I was blown off, I’d accept it and move on.”

She snorted and made the comment, “You were pretty persistent.”

Sanji smiled, feeling proud of himself, and chuckled, “I was, wasn’t I?”

“I’m glad you were,” she told him with a smile, “It showed me that you meant it.”

He let out a soft breath and ran his thumb over the back of her hand, “You mean more to me than you know.”

The look in her green eyes said more than words ever could. Zora squeezed his hand, assuring him that perhaps she did. Perhaps she understood more of these feelings than he realized, she understood because she felt them too.

“I never wanted to sleep with hundreds of women, I just gave up on finding someone who could love me,” he told her with a sigh.

“Sanji,” she showed him that same gentle smile and said, “I love you, and as long as you’re all in, so am I.”

All in, he imagined the implications of those words, the idea of settling down and making a life together. Sanji could see himself asking Zora to marry him, he liked the idea of living together before that happened, though. Of course, once they’re married he would like to buy themselves a house to live in, move out of the city and start raising a family.

He could see all of that and more if Zora was the woman by his side. A smile formed across his lips and he told her confidently, “I’m all in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> Hope everyone has been staying healthy out there! Not much is new with me, but on Sunday I get to go wedding dress shopping with my sister. (She's engaged, not me :P) So that should be fun!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, I hope you are enjoying the story thus far! Let me know what you think in a comment!
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone!  
> There is more to come for this story, it's something I've been working on for awhile and I've finally decided to start publishing it.  
> Please let me know what you think in a comment, I love feedback!
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


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